The Doki Curse
by morbiusgreen
Summary: Damian Cancian and his father are shot and killed in a fake robbery gone wrong, only to end up in their younger bodies and reincarnated in a medium sized Japanese city. With no knowledge of the culture, how will Damian survive? And who are the four girls he keeps encountering in his second childhood? Rated M now for some suggestive themes.
1. That Time I Got Reincarnated in DDLC

You know, I could have started out this story with "It was a dark and stormy night," but there are two problems with that. One, it's so cliché even Disney doesn't use it anymore. And two, it wasn't true. In fact, it was a rather pleasant and warm night. My father and I were just leaving the theater after watching the performance of Hamlet by this particular town's local Shakespeare group for the fourth time that week. The theater parking lot was nearly empty. We'd stayed late again to talk to the performers again. My father and I were extreme lovers of theater, especially classical Shakespeare. He'd even been hired to directed my high school's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream where I'd been cast as Oberon.

"You know, each performance gets better," he said as we headed to his old and battered Chevy truck.

"Oh hell yes it does!" I said enthusiastically. "Hamlet's soliloquy this time around was nearly perfect."

"Agreed. The only mistake I found was when he seemed to stammer when he reached 'That patient merit' line." He looked at his watch. "Damn, I didn't realize that it was this late. Want to go get some fast food?"

I checked my wallet and winced. "As long as we're going to a place with a cheap value menu," I said. "I just spent nearly the rest of my spending money for the month."

"Don't worry, I got you covered," Dad said.

"No, it's really okay Dad," I said. "I don't want to relieve you of your money."

"Then how about I do it for the both of you?" A new voice said. Jumping out from behind Dad's truck, a hooded figure aimed what looked like a gun at us. The voice sounded female. "Hand over your wallets now and no one gets hurt." A second assailant stepped out of the shadows and aimed a weapon at us as well.

Both of us raised our hands slowly. "Okay, okay, there's no need to shoot. We'll cooperate," my dad said calmly. I was decidedly less calm than he sounded but I wasn't going to show it. "My wallet's in my back pocket."

"Mine's in my backpack," I added.

The first figure turned to her partner and motioned them forward. The second assailant, who appeared to be female as well, cautiously approached and patted my father down first, removing his wallet from his back pocket. She came over to me next. "Where's yours?" she asked.

"Top pocket," I said, keeping still. She unzipped it and pulled it out.

The second woman returned to the first and opened the wallets. She looked at us and I could see the disgust in her eyes. "This is chump change! Where's the rest of it!?"

"Rest of what? I don't have anymore money," I said truthfully.

"Neither do I," Dad said.

"Liar!" The second woman shouted. I wondered then if the two of them were on something. They rummaged through our wallets. "Where's your credit cards?"

"I don't have any," I said. This was also true. My father and I were homeless and made money by doing odd jobs around town. We both lived in the back of the truck. At one time my father had been a prominent analyst at a company called Underwood Samson, a New York based company whose main job was valuing other companies and helping them increase their sales. However, he'd been fired the year prior on false charges of embezzlement. He'd only escaped jail time when evidence was brought out that he was improperly arrested, but the damage had been done. No other company would hire him despite his nearly twenty years of faithful service to the company. The house he owned was foreclosed on and the two of us were immediately homeless. I tried to get as many jobs as I could to help pay for gas and food money.

Despite everything, my dad and I remained close. Mom had divorced my dad immediately after the trial and had moved back in with her parents. My dad and I just sold what little we had and bought a truck with it. We began to live in the truck, traveling around the US, living off the money we made doing the various odd jobs we were given.

"Come on, cough up the money!" the first assailant shouted.

"We don't have anymore unless you count the spare change in the car," Dad said.

The first woman smashed the driver's side of the car window and opened the truck door, looking all around the cabin for our spare change while the second one kept her weapon on us. "Don't get any funny ideas about escaping, Charles."

Alarms began going off in my head. How did she know my dad's name? She wasn't the one who looked at my dad's ID earlier. I didn't react, only kept my hands on my head. The second woman pulled out her phone and made a call. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but it didn't sound like good news for us. A few moments later a very new black car drove out of the darkness towards us. She held her gun to our heads. "Get in now."

Dad and I looked at each other slowly. Both of us knew that you should never let anyone get you in a car in such a situation. With a subtle nod the both of us rushed the second woman, knocking her over. Her gun rattled to the ground. I kicked it as I ran past. I heard the first woman call out angrily. Gunshots rang out in the night as we ran.

Suddenly I felt a stinging pain in my stomach. It felt like I'd been stabbed through the gut with a white-hot pipe. I collapsed to my knees.

"Damian!" My father stopped running and turned to help.

"Run Dad!" I shouted, but it was too late. A shot rang out and he paused mid-stride. Blood trickled down his face from the new gaping hole in his forehead. All the life when out of his eyes and he fell, crashing hard to the ground.

"Damn it, Karen!" one of the women said as they approached. "I told you we needed them alive!"

"I'm sorry, Carol," someone said. "I was aiming for his shoulder!"

Wait, Karen? It couldn't be…her. I turned and saw the last woman I ever wanted to see. "Karen…you…?"

Karen, my father's ex-wife, stood above me. She spat. "You're such a fool, Damian. You and that worthless father of yours."

With every ounce of strength I had, I pushed myself up and lunged for her. Another shot rang out and I felt my chest almost explode. Blood came up and I coughed it up. I fell down.

"CAROL!" my mother grabbed me and slapped my face. "You're not dying on me, bastard!"

Despite myself, I spat at her. "See you…in hell…"

"No!"

Black spots formed around my vision. The last I saw of my mother was her rage filled face.

"…ien? Damian?"

I gasped. Sitting up quickly, I clutched my chest, but to my surprise there was no pain. "What…? What happened?"

"Oh good, you're finally awake," a familiar voice said.

I turned and saw my father sitting next to me. "Dad? What…?" I began to remember more about what happened. "It was her…Karen."

"Yeah, I knew who it was the moment I heard her voice," Dad said. He shook his head. "Well, there's no point in thinking about that now." He looked around. "We have to find out where we are."

It was then that I became fully aware of my surroundings. We were in a pure white expanse. The floor was solid and smooth and went on as far as the eye could see. "So, we're dead then?"

My dad chuckled. "Looks like it."

"How can you be so blasé about it?! We were just murdered in cold blood!" I felt an unholy anger rise within me suddenly.

"Damian, calm down. What can we do about it?" Dad's tone was calm but also stern. "She made her choice. What matters is that we're together." He ruffled my hair. "I'm plenty angry about it too, but there's no sense in worrying."

At those words, my anger began to slowly subside. "I know you're right, it's just…" I looked down at myself. I was still wearing the same clothes as I had been when I was…killed. I still couldn't believe it. I was dead, so where was I? What afterlife was this? "How long have you been here, Dad?"

"A few minutes ago, I think. Then you appeared lying there. I've been trying to wake you up for the past half hour."

I stood and stretched. I didn't feel any pain or soreness. Normally I felt sore from sleeping on a hard mat in the back of the truck, but that soreness was gone. Well, I suppose that's only natural. I wasn't really in my body, after all. Was I? "So, what now? Do we just pick a direction and go?"

"I guess?" Dad said, sounding unsure. "Yeah, let's just do that." He grabbed his coat and put it on. "Huh, you know I feel like I slept on a bed of clouds. My aches and pains are gone."

"Well, we are dead," I reminded him. "Maybe that means were in a good afterlife?"

He chuckled. "Maybe. Or maybe we're in a neutral afterlife."

As we walked, the two of us began to hypothesize about where we might be. We bounced around ideas. "Hey, maybe we're in the Halls of Mandos!" I joked.

"Nerd," Dad said.

"Look at the pot calling the kettle black!" I laughed. Somehow it felt good to be laughing after being fatally shot. Dad joined in.

"What about a place for reincarnated souls?" Dad said.

"You're partly right, Mr. Cancian," a disembodied voice said.

My father and I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but it came from all around us. "Who are you?" Dad asked. I recognized the tone he used. He only used it at his former job, but I heard it often enough when he had impromptu conference calls on days off.

"I have many names and many ways to be identified," the voice replied. "Call me what you will, my true name I will not share."

"Okay fine," Dad said. "Where are we?"

"In terms you can comprehend, a waiting room would be as apt an explanation as any. However, I don't normally speak to souls in such a manner." There was a flash of white brighter than our surroundings and a figure clad in all white stood before us. There was an androgynous look about the being, so much so that I couldn't tell whether they were male or female. "Is this better?"

Clearly a bit startled, my dad said "Well, yes I suppose so."

"So wait, are we going to be reincarnated?" I asked, a bit scared.

The being was suddenly seated in a desk. Two chairs appeared in front of them. "Please take a seat. There are a few things I need to talk to you about."

Dad and I looked at each other. He shrugged and took a seat. I was a bit more hesitant but took a seat anyway. "So, what do you need to talk about?" I asked.

The being smiled. "Yes you died, and yes you two will be reincarnated, but not in the traditional sense. You two won't be literally reborn. You will have your ages reversed like so."

I suddenly watched as everything got bigger around me. Looking at my fingers I realized that it wasn't everything that got bigger, I'd simply gotten smaller. My hands were a bit pudgier and my peach fuzz beard was gone. I was no longer the nineteen-year-old young man I had been. When I looked up at my dad, I was surprised to see he was younger as well. He was still his adult height but he looked trimmer as well. "Now then, I am going to send you two into what you might call a parallel world. You will have similar backstories as the ones here, but your ex-wife will be less, shall we say, crazy."

"That's a plus, I suppose," I said. My voice was higher and more childlike now, but I was too focused on what was happening to care.

"Also, the two of you will be living in Japan."

"Whoa, wait a minute! Why there?!" I asked. "Dad and I don't speak Japanese!"

"Calm down, Damian," Dad said. He then turned to the being. "He has a point, though."

"There's no need to worry about the language barrier," the being said. "When you wake up in the new world, you will both be perfectly bilingual. You will be living in a two bedroom apartment. It will be the beginning of spring, just about the time when school starts for Japanese children. You'll have a week to get acclimated. I've arranged for you to be offered a job similar to the one you had in your old world, Charles. And as for you Damian, you'll be attending elementary school there."

I sighed. "Guess that makes sense." Not that I was looking forward to it. I'd not liked school at all. I'd done about average, but that was about it. As I thought about it, though, a thought occurred to me. This could be a chance for me to renew myself. Start fresh and put more effort into my studies. Maybe even become more athletic.

"You've got the right idea, Damian. Reinventing yourselves is one way you can make the most of your new life." the being said.

"Did you read my mind?" I asked, a bit miffed at the breach of privacy.

"It's hard not to," the being chuckled. "Anyway, I should mention that this special option the two of you have is completely voluntary. If you don't want to you'll simply be reincarnated the normal way, but you will lose all your current memories. If you need time to think it over, go ahead. Call me back when you've made your decision."

The being vanished, but I had a feeling they were still around. My dad leaned back in his chair. "Well, that was a lot to take in all at once."

"No kidding," I said. Looking down at myself I noticed for the first time that my clothes had also shrunk.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to live again, but living in Japan and doing what I'd done before?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Couldn't we ask that person for another job for you?" I asked. Dad didn't talk about it much, but I could tell the way he lost his job had traumatized him. It wouldn't be easy for him to go back to that line of work. Dad was an intelligent man and certainly could find a job in another profession if he set his mind to it.

"No, I'm willing to give that job a second chance," he said after a few seconds. "Besides, I was pretty good at my job remember?" He flashed me a smile.

I shook my head and chuckled. "Well, I mean you were, if Karen hadn't screwed you over you'd be president." I clutched my fists. I hated that woman, and the fact that she existed in the new world in some sense was nearly enough to make me just choose the normal reincarnation. However, I didn't want to lose my memories.

"That life is over for us," Dad said. "I think…I'd like to try this special opportunity."

"Mmm, yeah I guess that makes two of us," I agreed. "Yeah, I don't want to lose my memories."

"An excellent decision!" the being said, suddenly appearing in their chair again. "And no need to worry, your names will remain the same, your official paperwork will be in order and you'll have identical pasts, save for an earlier divorce. Think of that as a favor to you," the being said with a wink. He waved and white mist began to form around us. "You'll have everything you need on the other side!" they called out as they vanished into the mist.

Everything went immediately black…

_Pizzicato strings, soon joined by a flute. After a few seconds I hear a female voice say "Doki Doki!", then drums and a piano join in. The beat is very catchy and if I could move I'd be bobbing my head. One thing I notice though is that some of the piano parts sound a bit off key. Almost discorded…The song ends…_

I woke up with a start, looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. It was a bit dark, but outside I heard what sounded like birds chirping. I sat up and rubbed my eyes clear of the cobwebs. The room I found myself in was a bit smaller than the room I'd had when I still lived in a house, but I recognized some of my old belongings. I saw a bunch of boxes lying around near a corner as well. "Guess we just moved in?" I said to myself as I turned on the light. I saw that I had a small twin bed with a desk right next to it. On the desk was an older PC pushed to the side as well as a place to write. I had a small TV on a stand next to the desk facing my bed with a DVD/VCR player on top of it. Opposite the foot of my bed there was a closet, and next to the foot of the bed I had my old bookcase back, with books and toys spread out across it.

I was almost lost in nostalgia when there was a knock on my door. "Damian? You awake?"

"Yes."

"Can I come in?"

I chuckled. "Sure Dad."

He walked in slowly. "Oh wow, I remember a lot of this stuff," he said, looking around. "It was nice of that guy to give you all this back."

"Yeah," I said, still feeling a bit unsure and suspicious about the being who'd sent us here. "Hey Dad, do you know what day it is today?"

"The calendar on the kitchen counter I found earlier said it was March 27, 2005," Dad replied.

"2005? So I'm…let's see, six years old now."

"And I'm thirty five again," Dad said. "It's nice to be younger. Maybe I should take better care of my body this time around."

"What, and miss Fast Food Friday?" I chuckled.

Dad laughed and ruffled my hair. "Oh you. Well, why don't we look around our new place?"

The apartment was definitely different than anything I'd seen in America. I didn't know too much about Japanese etiquette, but I decided to study up on it, but one thing I found odd was the fact that the toilet was in a room all by itself. The shower and bath room was extremely unusual as well. There was a larger television in our living room along with another newer looking DVD/VHS combo box. We had a small couch and a reclining chair.

"Well, so much for cooking a full-sized pizza," Dad said when we explored the kitchen. We had a microwave and a small oven, but not a full-sized oven. We only had two burners, and those were gas.

"And a rice cooker?" I added, looking at the older model of rice cooker next to the burners. "Well, I guess this is Asia." I assumed we'd be eating a lot more Asian food than normal, but in the year since we'd been homeless I'd learned not to be too picky. "Suppose I should learn how to use chopsticks too."

"It's not as hard as it looks," Dad said. He looked down at me then snickered. "Then again, with your chubby hands, it'll be a challenge."

"Hey!" My face went hot with embarrassment, but my dad's laughter caused me to break into a grin and laugh along with him. "Yeah yeah," I said. My stomach chose that moment to growl at me. "I suppose now's as good a time as any to practice," I said before Dad could make another joke.

"Mmm, I'm not in the mood for anything Asian right now," Dad said. "Why don't we try to find some place that has burgers?"

I rolled my eyes. "What about eating healthy?"

Dad laughed. "We've just come back from the dead. I think we both deserve to stuff our faces today."

"Okay fine Dad, but starting tomorrow we eat healthy. Deal?"

Dad nodded. "We'll go grocery shopping after we eat."

At that moment there was a knock at the door. Dad and I turned quickly to the door. "Who could that be?" I whispered.

"Mail?" Dad wondered. "I'll go check." He went and answered the door, I followed a bit behind him.

An older and quite lovely Japanese woman stood at the door. She wore along white skirt and a pale green blouse. "Ah hello," she said in English, "I'm sorry to come by so early. My name is Hiroko Takanashi. I saw you moving in a couple of days ago and wanted to come over and welcome you to Japan." She bowed.

"Oh, well thank you!" Dad said, bowing back. "My name is Charles Cancian. This is my son Damian."

I bowed as well. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Takanashi."

She laughed. "Such a polite young man. And it's actually Mrs. Takanashi."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.

"Ahaha, don't be. I'm flattered you think I'm so young. Anyway, my daughter and I came by to say hello. Come out dear."

A young girl with bright brown hair came out from behind Hiroki's skirt. She was wearing a simple white summer dress and a straw hat. Her eyes were a very cute emerald green and she wore a white bow in her ponytail. "Hey there!" she said with a grin. "I'm Monika! Nice to meet you!"

* * *

**Another insert into DDLC, only this time the OC doesn't know a thing about the game. Enjoy this first chapter.**

**morbiusgreen.**


	2. First Encounters

"Nice to meet you too," I said in perfect Japanese, smiling and bowing politely.

Monika looked up at her mother. "His Japanese is good, Mother!"

"You're right," Hiroko said, looking at the two of us in surprise.

"Well, I started learning it back in college," Dad said, also in Japanese, "and kept on studying it for fun. I taught my son as well."

"That's impressive," Hiroko said.

"Thank you," Dad said with a chuckle.

Hiroko smiled. "My family lives in one of those houses over there," she said, pointing to her right. I looked out and saw that we were in a residential area. Our apartment was on the second floor of the apartment complex and across a small street I saw a few larger and more expensive looking houses. The air outside was cold but the sun was shining. The air smelled of moisture, much like it did after it had rained. "We were heading towards one of our favorite spots and were hoping you and your son could join us. I wanted to show you around the local neighborhood."

"You know, that sounds like a good idea," Dad said. "We haven't had time to look around much since we got here."

"Great!" Monika said. Looking at me, the young girl beamed. "Hurry up Can-kun!"

"Can-Kun?" I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. I figured I'd learn more about the culture later. I grabbed a pair of sneakers and put them on. Once I stepped out Monika grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her down the stairs. "Ah, wait a minute! Slow down!"

"Don't run too far off, Monika!" Hiroko said.

"Okay Mom!" Monika called back, slowing down. She looked at me and grinned. "So tell me Can-kun, what do you do for fun?"

I had to think. What had I done for fun when I was six? "I like watching plays with my dad," I began, "and playing with my toys I guess."

"Cool! What plays do you like?" Monika asked.

"I'm mostly into Shakespeare plays," I explained, "but I also am interested in learning about Japanese plays too. I mean, I will be living here from now on."

Monika's eyes brightened. "I've seen a couple plays, they're fun!"

I hadn't been expecting that from a girl so young. "You'll have to tell me which one you liked," I said. "I'll look them up."

She looked excitedly at me. "Okay! But let's play for now. Do you want to race?"

"Um, but you're in a dress," I pointed out.

"What, don't think you can beat me?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

I highly doubted that I could beat her in my current state, but I would certainly give it my best shot. "Hah, no, I've just not been exercising lately."

"Come on then, let's see if you can beat me," Monika said, grinning.

"Alright, but let's make it fair," I said. I pointed to a bench. "From here…" and then I pointed to a lamp post a ways away, "…to there sound good?"

"How about and back as well?" Monika suggested.

"Fine. Who's gonna count down?"

Our parents soon arrived. Monika ran up to her mom. "Mom, can you count down? Can-kun and I are going to have a race!"

This girl was certainly full of energy. Hiroko smiled. "Of course, dear." The two of us lined up. Hiroko and my dad sat at the bench. "Ready…set…GO!"

* * *

"Damn, I can't believe I lost," I said as Dad and I walked home, carrying groceries from the local shopping mart. "I thought my six year old body was decently healthy, but to be beaten like that?"

"It was pretty one-sided," Dad said as he put down the groceries to unlock the door. "but you're used to your nineteen-year-old body."

I sighed as I walked in, taking my shoes off. "Yeah, true. I think I'm gonna start exercising tomorrow."

"Don't like being beaten by a girl?" Dad said in a teasing tone.

"Oh shut up!" I said as I put the groceries on the kitchen floor, but he wasn't far wrong. I did feel humiliated by being beaten. Hell, I'd almost cried. Did that mean I was acting more like a child because of being in my child self's body? But I did want to reinvent myself here. And I had a chance. A chance to reinvent myself and become a better person. And if I had to use rivalry as an excuse I so would!

After I helped put the groceries away, I told Dad I was going to look up information about Japan. "That's a good idea," he said. "I should do the same. Tell you what, why don't we spend about…" he looked at his watch, "three hours each studying. Then we can discuss what we learned at dinner."

I went to my room and turned on my computer. "Well, at least it's Windows XP," I said with relief as I saw the logo for the antiquated OS on the boot up screen. When it loaded, I logged into my account and went to my old Firefox icon. The internet we had was slower than I was used to, but in the three house I spent studying, I learned a lot. Unfortunately, YouTube was still brand new at this point so there were no instructional videos on the video site, but I found a lot of older websites that helped me. I grabbed a notebook and began taking notes on what I learned, trying to make sense of the alien culture I found myself thrust into. Some aspects of it I approved of, such as the taking off of shoes in the house and even in schools and certain other buildings, but others confused me, such as why chopsticks shouldn't be stuck into rice straight up.

Three hours later I smelled something unusual coming from the other room. I walked out and found my Dad looking at a piece of paper. "So add the Miso stock and…oh hey Damian. I'm trying to prepare Miso as part of dinner tonight. I figured since we had a more American style meal earlier we should try Japanese food."

"How's it coming?" I asked, grabbing a nearby stool and climbing up to watch as he cooked.

"I found a recipe online, surprisingly," Dad said, "and so far I think it's going rather well. The rice cooker is easy to figure out, I discovered we have a fish grill too, so tonight we're having a simple fish, rice and miso meal."

"Oh now I smell the fish," I said. "It smells good."

"Dad reached down to a handle next to the burners and pulled. A small compartment came out and steam rose from it. "Pretty convenient, if you ask me," Dad said. He pushed it back in.

During dinner, Dad and I compared notes. In an incredible coincidence, he also had taken notes in a journal. Despite it being a simple meal, I was surprised as how much I liked it, especially the Miso. Apparently, Dad found more websites that answered some of the questions I had about some customs and I answered some of his questions as well. "Well, that was very informative," I said while we were cleaning up our plates.

"So what should we do tomorrow?" Dad asked. "I was thinking we should go look around Watahara a lot more." Watahara was the name of the town we'd been sent to.

"Yeah, good idea," I said. "I would love to find the library and a local gym, if Japan has them anyway."

"Monika really got under your skin, didn't she?"

I didn't like to admit it, but he was right. Not only had she beaten me in a physical challenge, but she'd brought out a trivia book and I hadn't known half of what she'd answered. "Yeah, she really did…"

"Hey, it's okay kiddo."

And here I assumed I was a bit more mature than this, but I guess being only nineteen made me still a child. "Yeah, but I'll get better, and not just because of her."

"That's the spirit! Nothing like a rival to keep you on your toes."

I smiled a bit. "Yeah, true…"

* * *

My Dad and I spent our first week exploring the city. We learned hos the public transport system worked and I found a really interesting local library that luckily was . I did find a gym, but I decided I'd rather do my own exercises on our neighborhood's local play structure after I saw how it was just a bunch of older men exercising. I was still only six, not strong enough to fight back against anyone.

On the second day, Dad found a few folders in his desk that apparently had been placed there by the being who'd sent us here. It included some necessary information that they'd neglected to tell us, such as our local bank, the location of the job Dad would be starting next week, the time and place I'd start as an elementary school student and more. We spent one day not only checking out the building Dad would be working in (it was one of the higher office skyscrapers in the inner city) as well as shopping for the school supplies for me. One of the folders had an official looking list from the school.

Japanese elementary school was unlike the private school I'd attended when I went in my old life. For one, I could wear normal clothes. I was a bit relieved when I learned that Monika didn't go to that particular school. I'd see my Dad at breakfast in the mornings and then he'd walk me to school. I kept up with all my homework assignments, and in my free time I began to study more advanced topics. Since the library was close to my school, I got special permission to head to the local library to study for a couple hours, then after dropping my belongings off at home I'd go for a run around the block and do some exercises at the park. By the time I'd get home I'd be exhausted, but I'd still prepare some kind of meal for myself and Dad. Most nights I'd be asleep when he got home from work.

As spring turned warmer, I began to see results in my exercise. I gained a lot of stamina and I even got faster. I was still not as fast as Monika was, but she seemed impressed that I was getting faster. On weekends, she would sometimes come to my house and play. Her parents would sometimes accompany her. Her father, who's name was Kaito Takanashi, was, ironically enough, on the Board of Directors at Dad's new company. Monika and I would have plenty of competitions, most of which she won at first, but as I kept studying and exercising, I got better at defeating her. Despite her winning, I began to respect her and eventually we called each other friends. I began having more fun whenever we had a competition.

Whenever I asked Dad about the new company, he had nothing but good things to say about it. "They're a lot more people oriented than Underwood Samson," he told me once. "Sure, we still evaluate the worth of other companies, but we also take into account the livelihoods of their employees and try and come up with other ways to cut costs other than letting people go."

Dad also kept his promise and began eating healthier. We would occasionally go out to some fast food places, but those moments were few and far-between. Dad and I also went to local theater performances any chance we got. Monika and her parents even accompanied us a few times when they heard about our love of theater. I was happy to see Dad making new friends, and I hoped that he was making more at work.

Finally, it was summer break. I was caught off guard when Monika told me that Japanese summer vacations were only a month long. During the first week of Summer Break, Monika and her family went on a vacation to Hawaii. Monika's father invited my father to come, but Dad turned him down as politely as he could. "I don't want to be seen as being anyone's favorites at the company," Dad said. Despite wanting to go to Hawaii, I approved of Dad's wise decision.

* * *

During that first week of summer break, I spent a lot of time in the library. I was glad I had Japanese implanted into my head because I found almost no books in English. I was looking for a spot to sit and read an interesting book I'd found in the mystery section one day when I saw a group of young boys surrounding someone sitting at a desk. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it sounded as if they were making fun of someone. I didn't want to get involved, but as I passed them, I heard one of the boys say "Why don't you stuff your shirt? Then you'll stop passing as a boy. And grow your hair, why don't you?"

I sighed, put the book down and put a hand on the shoulder of the boy who said that. "You know, this is a library," I whispered in as menacing a voice as I could muster with my new childish voice. "If I report this to the librarian, you'll be banned."

The boy turned to me, glaring. "Stay out of this, foreigner."

I sighed. "Bullies like you are all the same," I said, putting on my most mature tone. "You love to take out your own anger and frustrations on those weaker than you. Do you like feeling superior? Were you hurt so much that you need to lash out?"

"Shut it, you idiot," another boy said. "What do you know about us?"

"That you could be the cause of someone's suicide if you're not careful," I replied. I knew I wasn't any match for them if they rushed me all at once even after months of exercise, but if I wanted to reinvent myself, I had to go against all my natural instincts to just ignore things to keep myself safe. "Do you want the blood of someone on your hands?" I asked, leaning forward and making my voice as menacing as possible. "That would make you all murderers."

Someone walked up behind me and the boys faces went pale. One of them clicked his tongue. "Come on, we're going. No need to waste our time on these two morons!"

The group of boys headed out. I looked up and saw the librarian smiling at me. "Thank you," she whispered. "Those boys have come in a few times since summer started."

"Ah, um, no problem," I said, a bit flustered by this praise. I turned and saw the victim of the bullying for the first time. The girl sitting in the chair was holding a book that was a bit beyond her age level. She wore a dark purple turtleneck, black pants and was wearing a beanie. It had been moved away from her head and I saw clearly that she had no hair. I assumed she'd been going through Cemo at some point and just had her hair cut off. She was looking down at her book, hiding her face. I approached. "Hey, are you okay?"

She hid her face more with the book. "I-I'm fine," she said, her voice small and timid.

"Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded silently. "Well, if you're sure. Hey, mind if I sit here and read?"

"Um, s-sure," she said.

I put the books down, grabbed my notebook and began to read. I'd grabbed the book I was reading because the red eye on the cover caught my eye. The summary sounded interesting too. I got so lost in my reading that I didn't notice the girl looking intensely at me for a while. It wasn't until I rubbed my eyes that I saw her. "What is it?" I asked curiously.

"What book is that?" Her voice was less shy and more interested.

"Oh this?" I pointed at the book. "It's a book I found in the mystery section. It's called _A Portrait of Markov_. I haven't gotten far but there's something sinister about the plot."

"Who…who's the author?"

"There isn't any," I replied. "The original manuscript was turned into a few publishing companies anonymously. One of them decided to publish it."

"I see." She quickly wrote something down on a scrap of paper and put it in her pocket.

"Hey, a word of advice: don't listen to those boys, they're just trying to get under your skin. Your hair will grow back eventually, and you'll be plenty cute again." I felt dirty for saying this to an underage girl, but I didn't want to be the kind of guy who just ignored people when they were down anymore.

"Oh, um, okay," she said. We didn't say anything after that. I went back to reading as did she, but I caught her looking my way a couple of times. After a while I closed the book and stood. "Thanks for letting me sit at this table. Sorry if I was a bother."

As I was walking away, the little girl called out softly, "Wait! What's your name?"

"Damian Cancian," I replied, "Cancian's my last name."

"Ah, um, thank you Cancian-san. My name's Tsurumi Yuri."

"No problem, Tsurumi-san. Have a good day." And with that I bowed, checked out the book and went back home.

"Back already?" Dad asked as I walked in. It was a Saturday and he had a day off.

"I was there for three hours," I said, "I wanted to come and drop this stuff off before I went back out to exercise," I said, holding up the book.

"Ah, I gotcha. You're certainly more outgoing than before," Dad said. He was relaxing in the reclining chair reading a newspaper.

"I'm not going to waste this second chance."

"You've grown in these past months," he said. "I'm proud of you."

I smiled. "Thanks Dad." I got changed into some loose clothes. As I was leaving, a thought occurred to me. I'm not sure where it came from, but I turned back. "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"This may seem a bit weird," I said, "but I think I'd like to learn how to play an instrument. Maybe piano."

"Hmm, we can discuss that when you get back."

"Sounds good. See you later!" And I was off.

* * *

**I'm taking liberties with their childhood selves, but I'm trying to keep their personalities the same. Hope you enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	3. First Encounters Pt 2

When Monika came back from her vacation, she brought souvenirs back for me. Her parents did the same for my Dad. Most were foodstuffs, but Monika also brought me back a keychain of an image of a sunset off on the Maui beachline. I attached it to my backpack.

During the weekdays I would spend some time each day at the library. Half the time I'd run into Yuri there. She became more talkative about her interests in literature. She even told me she read the book she'd seen me read. "It's my new favorite book," she said excitedly. I learned she was here from Tokyo visiting her grandparents for her summer vacation. I was a bit sad when I last saw her, but I was glad she seemed a bit more confident in herself.

As it turned out, I decided to learn not just piano but violin and the flute as well. My teacher for all three was, ironically enough, the librarian. Her name was Yuuko Kunieda, and she was honestly a great teacher. She was patient and kind, but also strict. To my surprise, I discovered that she lived close by to where I did and since I didn't have a piano at home I went over to her place initially. A few weeks after I started learning at the beginning of September before I went back to school, Dad surprised me with an electric keyboard. "It's not a piano," he admitted, "but you can still use it."

"You just don't want to hear me practicing and messing up, do you?" I said, holding up the headset that came with the keyboard.

"I plead the fifth," Dad replied, hands raised.

"This isn't America, you can't plead the fifth." I put my hands on my hips and glared at him, but we both started laughing a few seconds later.

I wasn't blind to the subtle glances my dad and Yuuko gave each other on the rare occasion that they saw each other. If I had the mind of an actual six-year-old, I'd have been grossed out. Yuuko was a couple years younger than my dad at thirty-three. To my nineteen-year-old mind I could tell she was very attractive. Dad thought so too, and despite both our initial fears that she'd turn out like Karen, Yuuko quickly dispelled those fears one afternoon when she brought us dinner, she'd made herself.

It wasn't long after when Dad told me that he'd set up a weekend date for him and Yuuko. I simply gave him a thumbs-up and told him, "Good luck, Dad!" When he got back later that night I was up waiting. He told me that the date went well, at least he thought so. That next Saturday afternoon after my lesson Dad took her out again. This went on for about a month. Soon it was the beginning of October of that year. Dad came home from one of his dates blushing like a cherry. I was up studying when I saw him. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" I asked, grinning. "Someone looks like they had a fun time."

"Yeah," he said softly. "Ahem, sorry," he said, clearing his throat and speaking more clearly, "I'm stuck in my own little world right now."

"What happened?" I asked, "or is it too X-rated for me to know at my tender age?" I asked teasingly.

He quickly shook his head. "No, it's just…I confessed to Yuuko just now. And…she confessed back."

I was over the moon with happiness for him. He definitely deserved to have a woman like Yuuko on his life. And having her for a mother would definitely be something I'd be open for. When I realized what I was thinking, I took a deep breath. I needed to slow down. It might not work out. But I would definitely root for them. "I'm so glad," I said. "She's a nice woman."

A couple weeks later Yuuko asked if I could do lessons at her place instead. I agreed and told Dad when she was gone. "I think she wants to tell me about your guys' relationship," I said.

"Oh that's okay," Dad said. He and I were busy making dinner, a healthy alternative pizza of some kind. "She's nervous about it, though."

"I can only imagine," I said. "Don't worry, I won't be hard on her. I'll just tell her the truth."

That cool Autumn Saturday was sunny, but there was rain for the later forecast, so I took an umbrella with me. Our lesson went like normal. Yuuko even said how impressed she was at how skilled I'd become. I didn't feel like I'd improved that much, and I said so.

"You're learning faster than I ever did with those instruments at your age," she said. "Maybe it's because my parents made me take them, but your dad told me you took the initiative?"

I chuckled. "Heh, yeah I did. Call it…an epiphany. I think that's the word."

She chuckled. "You're a smart young man. Well, that concludes today's lesson, but…" she suddenly got a bit nervous. "Hey, can I talk to you…?"

"Uh, sure." I looked up at her playing the confused card.

"So…you know how your Dad and I have been spending time together?" she asked after a few false starts.

"Yeah…?"

She bit her lip anxiously. "Um…I…I really like your dad, like a lot," she said, face red. "He's not like any other man I've met before. And…um…"

I held up a hand. "Sensei, you don't need to ask for my permission to date Dad."

Her face went even redder. "N-No, that wasn't it. I…"

"Sensei, I can tell Dad likes you. He's not been this happy in a long time, and it's all because of you." I smiled up at her. "You're a good teacher and a good woman. Keep doing what you're doing with Dad."

She shook her head. "Well, um, I was going to say something else besides that. I…If your dad and I…became more than boyfriend and girlfriend, would you…accept-"

"Of course I would," I said quickly.

Her eyes shimmered with tears and without warning she hugged me. "Oh, thank you Cancian-san!"

"You can call me Damian," I said, hugging her back.

"Okay…Damian-san."

Autumn turned to winter and snow began falling. Yuuko and Dad saw more and more of each other. She would be invited over to my house more often and we started going over to her house as well. It was during one of these dinners at her house where I met Natsuki.

* * *

It was a snowy Saturday in early December. The temperature was a few degrees below zero Celcius. I was sitting on the couch reading a new manga I'd found at the library a couple days earlier. I'd begun looking at the Japan's entertainment during this time and discovered manga and anime. Dad and I were planning on having Yuuko over for a day of fun baking, games and movie watching when she called. Dad put her on speakerphone so I could hear. "Hey Charles, hey Damian. Sorry, but I have to cancel today's date. One of my friends asked me to watch her daughter while she and her husband go somewhere. I expect her here anytime."

"Oh, um, that's okay. Maybe another time then," Dad said, sounding disappointed.

I knew he'd be too polite to salvage this situation, so I decided to use my child status to my advantage. "Bring her over here! She can play with us!"

"Eh, I don't know…"

"Pleeeease?"

I heard Yuuko chuckle over the phone. "Alright Damian-san, I'll ask her. I'll call back and let you know."

"Sometimes I forget you're smarter than you look," Dad said with a grateful grin after Yuuko hung up the phone.

"Well that was rude," I said, crossing my arms and looking up at him with another glare. "Well even if she doesn't come over, we can make cupcakes still right?"

He ruffled my hair. "Of course we can!"

Not five minutes later, Yuuko called back. "I got permission. The two of us will be coming over soon."

"Great!" Dad said excitedly. "See you two later." He hung up after both said their I love yous. "Well, they're on their way now," he said.

"Do we have enough ingredients for the girl?" I asked.

"I think we can manage," Dad said.

Over the course of the past half year since we'd been reborn here, Dad and I had been speaking both English and Japanese to each other. Yuuko had wanted to learn English as well, so she'd begun taking an online class at a local college in her spare time. When she arrived, she greeted us in her best English. Behind her was a young girl about my age. She wore bright pink jeans and a heavy white coat. She wore her lighter hair in pigtails. She looked at me with a curious expression. Looking up at Yuuko she said "You never said there would be a boy here, Yuuko-neesan!" she said, sounding disappointed.

"Whoa, way to kill the atmosphere," I said on instinct.

She glared at me. "And he's a foreigner!"

"Natsuki-chan, be nice," Yuuko said. "I promise you'll have fun."

She looked at me again, this time a bit less suspiciously. "Hmmph, fine."

"Everyone, this is Nomura Natsuki. Her mom and I have been friends since we were kids," Yuuko said. "Natsuki-chan, this is Charles Cancian and his son Damian."

"Nice to meet you, Nomura-san," I said, bowing politely.

"S-same to you," she said, although she didn't look too pleased by it.

"Geez, don't look so happy to see me," I said.

"Why don't you two come in?" Dad said. "It's too cold to let two cute ladies standing outside."

"I-I'm not cute!" Natsuki said as she stepped inside and removed her boots.

"We can agree on that," I said quickly. This got me a slight smack on the head from Dad.

Natsuki's face reddened. "F-fine! As long as we agree," she said, storming past me. "So, I heard you're planning on making cupcakes?" she asked me.

"Yeah, we were actually," I said. "Want to help?"

"I've never made cupcakes before," Natsuki said. "I'll just ruin them."

"Probably so," I said.

"Damian," Dad said warningly.

"Sorry," I said.

"Nonsense, Natsuki-chan," Yuuko said. "We'll all help you. But we'll get started on those later. Right now why don't you and Damian-san go play for a while? Charles and I are going to set up the kitchen."

"Fine." Natsuki walked around the apartment, seeming to appraise it. When she got to the couch, she saw the manga I'd been reading. "What's this? You read manga? Ahaha!"

I was getting tired of this girl. "You know, it's actually a good read once you get into it," I said, picking it up and sitting down. "Why don't you try reading it yourself?"

"Eeew, those are for kids!"

"But…we are kids."

She looked at me, sighed and sat next to me. "Fine. So what's it called anyway?"

"_Parfait Girls_." And I opened the first volume of the manga and began to read through it again. As we read, Natsuki's initial reaction was to dismiss some of the more childish humor, but to my delight she began getting into the story as we read together. She began scooting closer as we read until our shoulders were almost touching. The moment we finished the first volume Dad called us into the kitchen. "So, what did you think?" I asked.

"Hmmph, it was childish and immature," she said.

"In other words, you liked it," I replied. "It's like you, after all."

"H-Hey, it's not like I like it or anything! Idiot…AND I'M NOT CHILDISH AND IMMATURE!"

She was acting like a certain stereotype I'd encountered in an anime I'd watched. A tsundere. I didn't have any idea those existed in real life. I sighed. "Fine fine. Hey Dad, what flavor are we making anyway?"

"We're sticking with a simple vanilla and chocolate flavor today," Dad said. "Why don't you and Nomura-san make the batter for the vanilla? Yuuko and I will make the chocolate one."

"Alright, where's the recipe?" I asked. Dad handed me a sheet of paper he'd printed. "Alright. There isn't much room in here so we'll need to be patient."

The time passed. Natsuki seemed impressed by how patient I was with the cooking, but I owed it all to my more mature mind and the memories I'd accrued in my original life. As we continued, she became much more agreeable, even getting excited as the two of us mixed the ingredients. After we'd poured the cupcakes into the trays we put them into the small oven. "This is going to take a while," Dad said, "so why don't we use this time to make the frosting as well?" He brought out the ingredients for both and handed us food coloring. "Just in case you want to make multiple colors."

The four of us spent almost half the day preparing the chocolate and vanilla flavored cupcakes. Eventually, though, they'd all been finished and frosted, leaving a very generous number of cupcakes for everyone.

"These are sooo good!" Natsuki exclaimed as she ate her second one.

"And these ones are healthier for you than normal ones," Dad said.

"I was wondering why you were using those ingredients," Yuuko said.

"Well, we want to try and eat as healthily as possible," Dad said. "I spent way too many years of my life eating poorly. Of course, we do enjoy eating unhealthily on occasion, but we don't do it every day."

I chuckled. "We've come to love Japanese cuisine a lot."

"Who's up for a game?" Dad asked. He held up Life.

"Sure, why not?" Yuuko replied, moving to the table in the living room and sitting next to Dad. I sat down and Natsuki joined us. For the next hour we played. Natsuki and I competed a lot through the game to the amusement of the adults. Natsuki won the game, then we switched to a card game which I won. Finally Yuuko's cell phone rang. "Hello? Oh yes, hello Hiro-san…oh that's a relief…of course she can…I'll let her know…I hope she recovers soon…bye." She hung up. "That was your father, Natsuki-chan. Your mom's staying at the hospital overnight. Your dad's staying with her, so he asked me to let you stay at my place. Is that okay?"

Natsuki nodded. "Sure. Dad made me pack an overnight bag in case."

"Well, seeing as you two don't have to leave as soon as I thought, do you want to watch a movie?" Dad asked. "If you're too tired, I understand."

"That's up to Natsuki," Yuuko said.

"I wouldn't mind," she said, yawning.

"Hmm, that tells me otherwise," Dad said. "It is late and we've done a lot. You can take some of the cupcakes with you if you want."

Yuuko and Natsuki thanked Dad and got ready to leave. I watched them go. Before Natsuki left she walked back over and asked, "That manga, what was the name?"

"_Parfait Girls_," I said. I grabbed a piece of scrap paper and wrote it down along with the author's name. "Just in case you forget again," I said as I handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, looking away grumpily as she folded the paper and put it in her jacket pocket. Dad and I waved as the two headed out into the snowstorm.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting day," Dad said as he began to clean up. "You certainly were a bit rude earlier." He sighed. "The reason that girl was with Yuuko was because her mother was in the hospital."

I felt immediately guilty. "I…how could I have known that…?"

"Damian Cancian," Dad said. "You may be in a child's body, but you wanted to reinvent yourself right? You have the mind of a nineteen year old man in there. Use it." He knocked on my head.

"Yeah I know," I said guiltily. "I should have apologized to her."

"You should have," Dad said. He put his hand on my head. "But it's okay. You may see her again. Apologize to her then."

I nodded. "Yeah, I will."

* * *

Another month passed. Around Christmastime Yuuko came over to visit us one Saturday unannounced. She looked like she'd been crying. As Dad held her and I made her some tea, I heard something that made the blood drain from my face. "Natsuki-chan's mom…she passed away last night…"

That explained why I hadn't seen Yuuko in the library that day. For the first time since coming to this new world, I felt tears welling up inside me. I ran to my room, shut and locked the door. I felt overwhelming guilt at how poorly I'd treated Natsuki and wept into my pillow. After I'd finished I realized how childish I acted and went back out. I did my best to help comfort Yuuko. That night she spent the night at our house. The next morning I got up early and made breakfast for the two to make up for my poor behavior the night before. Dad and Yuuko spent the day together. I went out for a few hours to give them some space. I ran into Monika nearly immediately. She noticed I seemed down and pulled me to the same park bench where we'd first raced. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing…" I said softly.

"Liar," she said. "You're not looking at me. Can-kun, tell me what's wrong." Her voice sounded stern.

I broke down and told her what had happened. "I feel awful for treating her like that," I said. "It was childish of me…"

Monika pulled me into a hug. "Hey, it's okay," she said tenderly. "You made a mistake. If you see her again, just apologize, alright?"

I sniffed. "Yeah, you're right." I hugged her back. "Thanks, Monika. You're the best friend anyone could ask for."

She giggled. "You're my best friend too," she replied.

"I feel a bit better now," I said before getting a palm full of snow smack in my face. I sputtered as Monika laughed and ran off.

"Catch me if you can, Can-kun!" she shouted.

Laughing I grabbed a handful of snow and chased her down the street, throwing snowballs at each other. Eventually the two of us were lying down next to each other in a field, panting. "You've gotten stronger," Monika said.

"Thanks Monika."

We both lay there for a while. I hoped to remain Monika's friend forever, if that was even possible.

Sadly though, that wasn't to be…

* * *

**Dun dun duuuun! Hope you all enjoyed this third installment!**

**morbiusgreen**


	4. The Years Roll By

As the months passed, Yuuko and my Dad saw more of each other until on my eight birthday in September of 2006 they announced that they would be getting married. I was ecstatic and hugged them both, calling Yuuko "Mom" for the first time.

The ceremony took place during the summer. It was small and only consisted of very close family, but I asked Dad to invite Monika and her parents as well. Yuuko was agreeable to the idea and Monika was happy to come. My grandparents, the same as the ones I had in reality, were flown in by my Dad. They were very accepting of Yuuko and were surprised by how far her English had come. Her parents were a bit less accepting but reluctantly approved. The fact that Dad and I spoke flawless Japanese was a point in our favor.

There was a lot of paperwork Mom and Dad had to fill out, some of it having to do with me. However, the paperwork was approved. We moved out of the apartment and over to one of the houses in the same neighborhood where Monika lived.

Dad also finally accepted a promotion in the company, but it required him to be gone from home for weeks at a time at most. This left me with my new mom a lot. We would bond a lot during this time. She'd help me not only with my studies but with my piano, violin and flute lessons as well. I grew to love her as a mom. Monika also liked her, so much so that she asked her dad if Mom could teach her piano as well. Monika's Dad hired her as Monika's tutor and she taught us both. Whenever Dad came back, the three of us would set time aside on the weekends to go out together as a family. All through my elementary school years I never once saw Mom and Dad's love for one another diminish.

"You know the old saying," Dad said once when I asked him about it, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

I saw the truth in his eyes. I knew my father was as loyal as a man could be, and from what I knew of Mom it was the same for her. I would sometimes hear the two of them talking on the phone when Dad was overseas. She sounded so happy to be talking to him and that made me smile.

"Don't you miss Dad?" Mom asked me one time at dinner. "You seem so accepting of this, almost like you're older than eight."

I smiled. "Of course I miss him," I said. "but you're here. And that helps keep me less lonely, Mom. Plus I hang out a lot with Monika, and it's nice to have her as a friend."

Her face flushed at that. "I'm so happy to have a son like you."

A couple months later, Mom announced to my Dad and me that she was five months pregnant. I was surprised because she didn't even look pregnant. Dad asked me to accompany her to the hospital when she needed to be checked up. Dad and Mom decided they wanted to know what sex the baby was. I called Dad when the doctor took an ultrasound of the baby. "Dad…I'm gonna have a little sister," I told him when the doctor announced his conclusions.

Later that night the three of us discussed what possible names the girl could have. We all finally agreed on Hana, since the baby was predicted to be born around spring.

When Hana was born, Dad was there with Mom and me as Mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Monika and her parents even showed up with flowers and congratulated Mom and Dad.

"Hana's so cute!" Monika said as she saw the baby sleeping in my mother's arms.

"Heh, yeah she really is," I replied.

Mom took childcare leave, meaning she wouldn't return to her job for at least a year. Since she was busier with the baby, I took it on myself to move ahead in my musical tutoring and even helped Monika along as well whenever she came by. I borrowed books from the library and would study them almost voraciously. I knew Mom wasn't neglecting me and she even apologized sadly a few times, but I tried to reassure her that raising Hana was more of a priority than teaching me. She did set aside some time to see how far I'd come along. "Wow Damian!" she said, clearly impressed. "You've gotten so good!"

I blushed whenever she praised me. "Thanks Mom."

"And you're class rep with your grades?"

"Um, how'd you hear that?" I'd only been appointed that day.

"Your teacher called and told me. She sounded so impressed."

I smiled nervously. "She's exaggerating," I said. "I've got a long way to go before I'm class rep material."

She ruffled my hair like Dad did. "You're too modest, Damian. I've seen your grades, they're impeccable."

Unfortunately, my friendship with Monika ended, not because we got into any kind of fight, although we got into those. Monika's family moved when I was around ten. It was so sudden that Dad was even caught off guard. They moved to the Tokyo branch of the company. I never even got a chance to say goodbye or get her email or number just so we could talk. In order for me not to forget her like those cliché anime protagonists did, I kept a picture of her and me posing in front of a summer tree on my desk.

* * *

Soon it was the spring of 2011. My time in elementary school finally came to an end and I was finally ready to enter middle school. The uniform for my new middle school was a simple one, black pants and black blazer with a green vest underneath as well as a white undershirt and a dark green tie.

Mom took my picture in front of the school on my first day. Next to her my little sister stood, looking at the falling cherry blossoms wide eyed. I was twelve now and she was four. I hugged my mom and watched her and Hana walk away. As I watched them go out of sight, I saw a light brown-haired girl with a red bow in her hair pulling a young boy towards the school. Both wore the school's uniform. An older woman followed with a camera in her hand as well. "Come on, Ma-kun!" the girl said excitedly. "I wanna get a picture with you!"

"Calm down, Sayori," the individual known as Ma-kun said. He had shaggy black hair and brown eyes.

"Come on Ma-kun, smile!" the girl called Sayori said, flashing a peace sign. "Yay!"

The boy did the same, although I saw his face flush a bit. The older woman grinned and snapped a few photos before walking up and hugging the girl. "You behave now. You too Makoto."

"Yes Mom!"

"I will, Inoe-san."

I was leaning against the wall surrounding the school building, watching this with amusement. As the older woman left the two headed into the building. Makoto spotted me and stopped. "Were you watching that?" he asked.

I snickered. "Yeah sorry. Hey, if it makes you feel better my stepmom was doing the same thing to me not five minutes ago."

Sayori giggled. "It was cute!" she said.

"Yeah yeah," Makoto said.

"Let's get going," I said. "Don't want to miss the bell."

And that was the first time I met Sayori and Makoto.

* * *

Sayori, Makoto and I somehow managed to get into the same class that first year. I sat in the very back corner near the windows, Makoto sat in front of me and Sayori sat next to him. Sayori was very friendly to me and Makoto warmed up to me. As I was still a bit of a newbie to Japanese popular culture, Makoto told me a bit about the more popular shows and manga to watch. He even introduced me to a form of game I hadn't known about before.

"What's a visual novel?" I asked when Makoto was telling me about Fate/stay night.

"You've never played a visual novel?" Makoto asked.

"I think that's obvious from my question," I chuckled.

"Well, they're pretty fun. You can watch a story unfold without having to open a book. And the graphics on the newer ones are pretty good. I hear there may even be animations for the characters coming soon." He went on to further explain the concept of a visual novel. Later that day I Googled it. Intrigued by the description I found a free one and downloaded it. The one I'd downloaded was a dating sim type, or so I read later, but it was quite fun to watch and choose a route. In my free time I played a couple of them before I got the gist of them.

As the school year went on, I continued to excel at my schoolwork. However, I wasn't the only one who excelled. A young girl named Akane Mori was the second best in the class, as well as in the entire school. She and I were elected class representatives and began working more together. She was highly competitive and took my higher grades as a challenge. She would challenge me to contests on nearly a weekly basis. She seemed to have a following of admirers. One time during a race, a group of them tripped me up, resulting in a win for her. I knew what had happened but didn't say anything because the smile on Akane's face was so happy that I couldn't bear to tell her. However, she eventually found out. After dealing with her fan club she came to see me.

It was the end of the day and I was cleaning the classroom alone. I was going to be doing it with Sayori, but I insisted she could go home with her childhood friend. I was clapping the chalkboard erasers together when the door was thrust open. Turning I saw Akane looking at me. Her eyes were wet but she was hiding her tears. "I lost…" she said.

"Pardon?" I asked.

She rushed up and got in my face. "That race last week! I lost it!"

I frowned. "Um, no? I lost. I tripped, remember?"

"Someone tripped you!" She grabbed the lapels of my blazer and pulled me forward. "I want a rematch!"

I sighed and removed her hands, holding them in my own. They were trembling. "Akane, stop this," I said, using her first name for the first time.

"Don't tell me to stop! You knew someone cheated, didn't you? Why didn't you say something?"

"Would you have believed me?"

She paused and looked down. "I…no."

"And besides, you looked so happy when you won," I added.

"So you felt sorry for me? I don't need your pity!"

"No, that wasn't what I had in mind at all," I said. "It was for a selfish reason. You always look so serious whenever we're competing. It was nice seeing you smile. It's cute."

She froze, her cheeks getting red. "C-Cute…?"

"Seriously, you need to relax a bit. Yes studying and keeping healthy is important, but do you ever take time to do something fun?"

"I…well…" she looked down.

"I thought so." I let her hands go. "You're incredibly smart, Akane. Just because someone's better than you doesn't mean you're not smart or talented." I grinned. "Understand?"

She nodded slowly. "I guess…"

"Let's not be enemies. Why not be study buddies?"

She giggled suddenly, surprising me. "Hehe, sure that sounds like fun. I'd love to steal your secrets of studying."

"Haha, you're on then." We shook hands on it.

* * *

As the months passed, Akane and I went from being study buddies to close friends. She even became friends with Sayori and Makoto. Sayori teased us a lot about being a couple. I noticed that Akane would sometimes blush every time. I admitted that I did like Akane, but never in that way. I saw her as a close friend I could rely on. The four of us hung out a lot during the weekends.

We began hanging out less when Akane and I joined the school's Literature Club during our second to last year in middle school. I learned that Akane and I had similar tastes in books, so we figured we'd join a club together. With the knowledge we had in books, the two of us were quickly welcomed in. To my surprise when the president of the club left to go to high school, he appointed me the next president. For the first half of the year I had the club read a chapter of a book for discussion in each

It was about two weeks before the festival, when the nightmares started.

* * *

The nightmares always started out in a similar way. I would find myself sitting in a chair in a darkened room. The only light came from some unknown light source above me. It was silent for a while then the lights suddenly came on. I found myself in the clubroom alone. When I called out for the club members, I heard nothing. I would get up and leave the clubroom, only to stop in horror when I saw that the only things out the windows was an empty expanse of shapelessness. I would run through the halls, calling out for someone, anyone. When I wouldn't find anyone, I would return to the clubroom in defeat. The moment I did the entire room would begin to glitch. A realization began to set in, the realization that I wasn't in a real world, but that the entire world I was in was just a game. I would collapse to my knees and scream, tears running down my face as the glitches increased until I would wake screaming and dry heaving. Fortunately, Mom and Dad's room was downstairs and mine was upstairs.

It got so bad during those two weeks that I would have to keep a glass of water next to my bed every night in anticipation of the dry heaving. It began to affect my studies because I was pulled aside by one of the teachers and asked if everything was alright at home. "Huh? Yeah, I've not been sleeping well is all," was my truthful to a point reply.

Even Akane noticed and asked me if I was alright. I told her about my nightmares. "Oh wow, those sound horrible," she said sympathetically.

"Yeah they are," I said, rubbing my eyes tiredly. "I hope they'll go away soon."

Fortunately, the day after the festival ended, the nightmare's stopped, but I still kept a water bottle next to my bed just in case. I managed to get my grades back up and for the rest of my last year in middle school I didn't have any more nightmares.

Dad and Mom insisted that I go to high school, so I, along with Akane, Makoto and Sayori and a few others from our school, applied to a local private school, Watahara Academy. The four of us passed the tests and to celebrate Akane, Makoto, Sayori and I all went out to sing at a Karaoke place. Makoto wasn't the best singer but the girls were pretty good. I got praised for my singing as well, causing me to blush.

Our high school uniforms were navy blue pants for the boys, same color skirt for the girls, a white undershirt with a dark orange cardigan that had crisscross patterns sewed into it. The girls had a red ribbon to tie around the collar whereas boys had a red tie. Both sexes had a dark beige blazer with the school's logo, a shield with a flame sewn into it. The school's motto was also "Ablaze with Knowledge."

When Akane and I first entered the school, we asked if there was a Literature Club, but we learned that the last members of the club had graduated earlier that year. During lunch on the first day, Akane and I were sitting at lunch with Makoto and Sayori. "So, no Literature Club here," I said. "I did like our old one, but I want to try doing something else."

"Eh? But you had the Literature Club running well," Sayori said. "Or that's what I heard anyway."

"I'm with Damian on this one," Akane said. "I loved our middle school Literature Club, but I'd like to shoot for something bigger."

"Like the Student Council?" Makoto said.

I knew he was talking tongue-in-cheek, but Akane and I looked at each other quickly. I could see the competitive gleam in her eyes, the same gleam I'm sure was in my own eyes. "Yeah…that could work."

"Um…you know I was joking right?" Makoto said. "You can't be seriously considering-?"

"Why not?" I asked. "Not only would it be something fun, but I think the challenge would be worth it."

"Agreed," Akane said. She and I fist-bumped.

"I'd vote for you!" Sayori said.

"Thanks, Sayori," I said. "Well then Akane, why don't we get started?" And thus we began to plan.

* * *

**Yeah, I skipped a lot, but I tried to include relevant information. Enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	5. Reunion

Akane and I didn't hide our intentions to aim for positions in the Student Council, and it wasn't long before the current student council president approached the two of us. His name was Hiro Satsuki. He was a senior that would be relinquishing his title at the end of the year along with the entire current student council. I wasn't sure what to expect when he showed up, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The two of us were in the school library working on some promises we could actually make that were plausible when the door opened. We didn't take too much notice of it, but when the two of us felt a third person next to the table we were at, we both looked up to see the smiling face of the council president.

"Satsuki-kaichou?" I asked. "Can we help you with something?"

"Actually, I was thinking I'd help you two with something." He indicated one of the empty seats. "Can I sit down?"

"Of course!" Akane said, suddenly looking nervous.

He sat down and clasped his hands on the table. "The scuttlebutt around the school is that you two are aiming for the Student Council together, is that right?"

"Well, yeah it is," I said. "is that bad?"

"No, I'm impressed that you two are taking the initiative early on. I hear your grades were stellar back in middle school and you were president and vice-president of your school's Literature Club, right?"

I nodded. "I tried my best to make the club a fun place as well as a place of learning."

"A couple of your club's former members said the same thing," Hiro said. "Why not go for that instead?"

"Well, we wanted to try something new," I said. "Akane and I are both eager to challenge ourselves to new endeavors. Besides, I want to be the kind of person people rely on and look up to. That, and it looks good to future employers when you tell them. I know that last reason sounds selfish, but I would never put myself before the students needs. We would do our best to listen to the requests the students make."

Hiro nodded slowly. "I'm glad to hear it. And from what others from your middle school have told me, you and Akane are quite well respected."

"I see." Akane smiled at this. I did as well.

"So you said you wanted to help. How so?" I asked.

"I came here to get a feel for the two of you. After all, I will be focusing a lot on college entrance exams in the future and won't have too much time for doing stuff in the student council." Hiro cleared his throat. "I've brought this up with the people in the council and they all agree that if I do what I'm about to tell you they'd all gladly resign and focus more on college entrance exams."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Akane asked.

"There's a special rule for our school," Hiro explained. "If the president and the entire student council all resign before their term is up, the president can elect a new student council president without the need for a school election. I came here to see if you two were president material." He stood. "Keep up the good work, you two." He turned and walked out.

"What was that about?" Sayori asked as she and Makoto walked over to us.

"I guess the president was testing us," Akane said. "What have you got there?"

"Manga," Makoto said, holding up an unfamiliar manga.

"A dictionary," Sayori said. "Ma-kun keeps telling me I use the wrong words, so I want to learn some new words." She held up her hands in that genki pose she used.

"I was wondering when you were gonna study more," I teased.

The three of us chuckled softly while Sayori pouted. Makoto rubbed her head. "We're just teasing, Sayori. You're fine."

Just a simple touch from Makoto made Sayori blush and cheer up. Akane and I looked at each other and nodded subtly. We'd known since our middle school days that Sayori had a huge crush on Makoto and we made extra sure to make them spend more time together. We'd invite the two of them out a lot during the weekends where we'd go spend time at gaming centers, karaoke places, or just walk around the city. Akane and I knew Makoto was a bit of a nerd, so we would occasionally spend time at his house playing video games.

A week passed. During lunch the following Monday the student council president made the announcement that he and the rest of the student council would be stepping down in order to make more time for their college entrance exams. "As such," Hiro said, "I am, according to rule ninety six in the student handbook, electing a new president. I hereby elect Damian Cancian as the new student council president. At your earliest convenience, would you come to the student council room, Cancian-san? Thank you."

Everyone in the class turned to me. There was silence for a little while, then Akane stood and began to clap, a wide grin across her face. Sayori quickly joined, then Makoto. The rest of the class stood and joined in too. I even heard a few cheers. "Well, get going," Akane said, gently pushing me to the door.

"Not without my vice president," I said, quickly grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me. She quickly fell into step beside me and we walked together. I received stares from everyone in the school who saw me. When I reached the clubroom, I knocked.

"Ah, is that you Cancian-kun? Come on in," a female voice said.

I opened the door which revealed a notably smaller room than most of the other clubs. There was one window that looked out, a desktop computer in front of it, and two tables set up in the center of the room. There were four people sitting at the joined tables, Hiro sat at the front, and three girls sat at the sides. "Have a seat," Hiro said, indicating one of two chairs at the opposite end of the table. "You too," he added, nodding at Akane. We both sat. "There isn't much for us to say except congratulations, Cancian-kaichou."

* * *

During the first year, Akane and I chose two more people to become members of the student council. The treasurer was a serious and studious girl named Tamara Watanabe and the secretary was a quiet and reserved girl called Keiko Saito. Both of them were first year students. Due to our duties, Akane and I weren't able to spend as much time with Sayori and Makoto as we could, but we did our best. However, Akane was the first to notice that Sayori and Makoto were starting to drift a bit apart. Makoto seemed to draw inward and Sayori's normal chipper attitude, while it remained dominant, began to show cracks.

Our time in the student council was a lot of hard work, and with that and the school load, I would always get home on school nights at around eight. That gave me about two hours to do homework and practice my music before I would crash for the night. However, Akane and I soon got used to the work and we both agreed that it was a lot of fun despite the hours of work we put into it.

About a month after I started as president, I applied for a weekend job at a local convenience store where I was hired to stock shelves and do inventory counts along with other odd jobs. I would work from around seven in the morning to around twelve. Mom and Dad started getting worried about me and asked if I was pushing myself too hard.

"I can handle this much at least," I said. "It's not a big deal."

The first year went by pretty smoothly. During winter break Akane and I began hanging out with Makoto and Sayori more despite the fact that I'd asked to work more during the break at my job. After work was over, the four of us would occasionally hang out at our usual hangouts. However Akane and I didn't neglect Tamara and Keiko. The six of us even hung out at my house on Christmas where we exchanged gifts.

After winter break was over, we went right back to work. Nothing much of note happened during our first year of high school, and soon it was spring break. During that break, I worked a little more at my job, so much so that I initially didn't notice that someone was moving in next door to us. The house had been empty for years, still owned by the people who'd lived there less than a decade ago.

On Wednesday of spring break that year, I was trudging home after work. The day was partly cloudy and for some reason I remember there being a bow shaped cloud in the sky. I was walking up the slight hill towards where my house was when I saw a beautiful coral brown haired beauty standing in front of the house with the people moving in. She had long hair tied in a ponytail with a white bow in it. She was wearing the school uniform for the Academy and was looking up at the sky with her hands behind her back. She looked vaguely familiar. When she saw me coming, she smiled at me. "Excuse me, do you go to Watahara Academy?"

"Hmm? Yeah, how did you know?" Her voice sounded familiar too, but it couldn't be…

"I'm transferring in after spring break," she said, "and I was wondering if you could give me some directions?" She looked at me with a slightly pleading look, and it was then that I knew who this girl was.

"Tell you what, why don't I get out of these work clothes and I'll show you there, Monika?"

Startled, Monika looked at me carefully. Her eyes then widened in surprise and her smile grew wider. Tears formed in her eyes. "Can-kun?"

"What am I, a tropical island?" I replied, grinning wide. "It's good to see you again, Monika."

She ran over and pulled me into a tight and sudden hug. Startled, I dropped my bag and held her back. "Can-kun!" And just like that it was like we were back in our elementary school days. I could remember many of our adventures more clearly when I smelled that same shampoo she always seemed to use. She looked up at me, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm so glad…so glad to see you again."

"Me too," I said. "I never got a chance to say this though." I broke the hug and waved. "Goodbye Monika, I hope you make lots of fun memories in Tokyo."

Monika snickered and laughed aloud as she watched. "What was that?" she giggled.

"And now that I've said that, welcome home Monika."

She wiped more tears from her eyes as she laughed. "It's good to be home." She walked up and hugged me again. "I missed you. There were no other friends like you."

For some reason that made my heart skip a beat, but I kept my cool. "I certainly hope you made new ones," I replied.

"Yeah, but none of them were as cool as you. And none of them could beat me in a race."

I grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're challenging me again."

"Ehehe, maybe I am."

"Then get changed and meet me out here."

Monika gleefully ran back inside. I went back in and changed into the school's PE uniform. When I came back out a few minutes later Monika was standing there, wearing the school PE uniform as well. "Took you long enough," she teased, tapping her foot to make her point.

"Yeah yeah," I said, chopping her head slightly. "So you wanted to see the school? Come on, there's a race track there that I'm sure will be free to use."

"That hurt," Monika pouted as she fell into step beside me. "It really is good to see you again, Can-kun. I was hoping against hope you'd still be here."

"Well, I'm sure Hana will be glad to see you. I doubt remembers you though. She actually starts elementary school this year."

"Do you have a picture of her?"

Pulling out my phone I pulled up a picture I'd taken of Hana a few weeks ago when she and Mom had been playing with blocks. "Here she is."

Monika's eyes widened. "She's sooo adowable!" Monika said in English, using a baby voice.

"Since when did you know English?" I asked in English.

"Heh, I started studying when I left here," she replied. "I was hoping to see you again and talk to you in English as well."

"Well your English is pretty good," I said. "Have you taken up anything else?"

"Yeah, I actually got really into debating at my old high school," she said. "I joined the Debate Club there. Does our new school have a Debate Club?"

"Yeah we do," I replied as we turned a corner. "They put on a mock debate for our last festival. It was pretty cool to watch. So I heard anyway."

"So you heard?" Monika tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah, I had to make rounds and make sure the clubs and classrooms were up to code and following the rules," I explained.

She raised an eyebrow. "You part of the disciplinary committee?"

"Student Council," I corrected.

"Whoa, for real?!" She looked at me shocked. "What position do you have?"

Before I could answer, we arrived at the school. One of the track girls was just leaving. When she saw me, she waved. "Hello, Cancian-kaichou!"

"You're the president?!" Monika's was wide eyed.

I blushed a bit. "Heh, yeah I am."

She suddenly smiled. "I'm so impressed! You've got to tell me how you did that!"

"If you win, I'll tell you," I grinned.

I could almost feel the competitive spirit emanating from her. "You're on, Can-kun!"

When we reached the track a few of the track and field club members were still there. Their club president asked if he could help me with something. "Oh no, I'm just introducing my childhood friend here to the school. She's transferring in and wanted to see the school." I smiled. "Actually perfect timing. Could you be an impartial judge? She and I are having a race. Could you start us and tell us who wins?"

"Of course. One lap around the track?" the club president asked.

"Yeah, sound good Monika?"

She was already stretching and nodded. Despite her being in her winter PE uniform, I could tell that Monika had gotten more attractive in the time since I'd seen her last. She had a more ample…bosom and her hips and thighs…I shook my head, not letting myself get flustered. I couldn't help but feel guilty about being attracted to her. I knew I was technically the same age as she was, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was much older than all my classmates.

"Damian, what are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice ask. Turning I saw Akane running up to me. She was a bit sweaty and dabbed at her forehead. "Oho? Who's this?" Akane asked, grinning when she saw Monika. "Old girlfriend?" Akane loved teasing me about how I seemed to be friends with so many girls.

"Ahaha, g-girlfriend?" Monika looked at be briefly, face red.

"No, nothing like that," I chuckled. "Akane, this is Takanashi Monika. She and I were childhood friends for years, and she's actually transferring in this year. Monika, this is Mori Akane. She's the vice president and one of my friends."

Monika bowed. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Same to you," Akane said. "But you didn't answer my question, Damian." She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Monika and I were going to race."

Akane grinned. "You'd better count me in," she said.

"Um, that okay with you, Monika?" I asked.

Monika was grinning, narrowing her emerald eyes. "I see you found another rival in my absence, Can-kun."

I chuckled. "She declared me her rival first. I'll explain…if you beat me that is," I said.

"Enough talk!" Akane said, heading to the starting line. "One lap right?"

"Indeed," I said, joining her. Monika joined us seconds later. Looking over at the track and field president, I nodded.

"Ready…set…Go!"

I launched myself off and dashed ahead, my stamina now more than it had been during the first race I had with Monika. I didn't go all out at the start like I would have, holding back during the first half, but I still managed to keep pace with the other two, who got ahead of me. During the second half I sped myself up, getting close to the two girls. As we reached the finish line I went all out, passing them just as we crossed the finish line. "Winner, Cancian-kaichou!" the club president said. He then announced that the other two had tied.

"Hah…hah…I still…whooo…can't beat you…can I?" Akane said as she panted, hands on her knees.

"Pshuuu…you've gotten faster," Monika admitted.

"Heh…thanks you two."

"Well, I have to head home," Akane said, grabbing her bag and pulling out a water bottle. "Chores to do. See you later!" She took a long swallow of her water as she jogged out of the track.

"Man, I swear she and Sayori are so full of energy all the time," I said.

"Who's Sayori? Is she on the student council with you?" Monika asked.

"Huh? Oh no, she and I are just friends. We met during our first year of middle school. Come on, why don't you and I catch up while I show you the school?"

As it turned out, Monika's new place in Tokyo was smaller than her old house. She kept up with her piano tutoring, and like I had she studied by herself. She also began learning English in the hopes that she could talk to me in my native tongue. She was one of the top students in her schools and joined her middle and first high school's debate club when she realized she had a love for it. "Sounds like quite the life," I said, "Anything interesting happen?"

Monika nodded. "Yeah, last year in my high school someone had a nervous breakdown. She had to be taken away screaming…" Monika looked down. "Said something about how the world was only a game…"

My face paled. The memories of the nightmares I'd endured during the festival of my last year in middle school came flooding back. "R-really? Someone's been watching too much of The Matrix," I said, chuckling as best I could to hide my sudden inexplicable fear. "Is she okay now?"

"Last I heard she's doing better," Monika said, thankfully not having noticed my brief lapse. "They shut down her club, though."

I knew what I had to ask, but I didn't want to. "What club was she a part of?"

"Her school's Literature Club."

My world went black instantly and I passed out.

* * *

**Hmm, well that's interesting...didn't expect that, did I? Hope you enjoy it!**

**morbiusgreen**


	6. Reunion Pt 2

I am back in the void again. The screams of millions of tortured souls fills the darkness. Images that don't make sense pass in front of my eyes…a girl hanging by a noose…a buxom girl stabbing herself with a crazed smile on her face…a smaller girl with her neck at a ninety degree angle, smiling wider than possible…and then Just- Just? Just what?! Where am I?! My screams fill the void along with the rest.

I begin to hear music again, a vaguely familiar tune. Pizzicato strings, a flute…where had I heard that catchy upbeat tune before. I listen intently to the tune. I hear some girl sing "Doki Doki!" and then a piano joins…seriously, where have I heard this music before? It's on the tip of my tongue…

The darkness somehow begins to glitch…and the last thing I saw were a string of words and code pass in front of me. One chilled me though...a string of code instructing the program to delete me.

"NO! DON'T DELETE ME PLE-!"

* * *

"…kun!...an-kun…CAN-KUN!"

Groaning I said, "Don't yell, I'm right here." I opened one eye to see Monika and Akane looking over me, expressions of worry on their face. I was lying on something soft and comfortable. Looking around, I saw that I was in the nurse's office. I tried to sit up, but I noticed for the first time that my head felt like it'd been split open.

"Slow down there, Can-kun," Monika said worriedly, gently pushing me back onto the bed. "You hit your head pretty hard on the pavement."

"Are you seriously all right?" Akane asked. "I heard Takanashi-san scream so I ran back. You were twitching and convulsing."

"I was?" I tried to think back at what had happened. I clutched my head as I suddenly remembered the conversation we'd had before I passed out. My dream or whatever it was came back to me. "Ugh…not again…"

"What happened?" Monika asked.

Slowly I sat up. "You know, I think I've just been working too much. This is the first time I've passed out, though. Man, I thought I was better than that." I smiled, not wanting both girls to worry.

"This isn't a smiling matter, Damian," Monika said, hands on her hips. She only used my first name on occasion, and that was whenever she was angry with or worried about me. "You weren't just twitching, you were screaming in complete horror."

"I-I was?" The girls helped me into a sitting position. I felt my head where I'd hit it and felt a bandage wrapped snugly around it. "Well, I feel a bit better now."

"You sure?" Akane asked.

"Aside from my head, yes I feel fine. Thank you two." I smiled gratefully at them.

"What else are childhood friends for?" Monika asked. She suddenly hugged me. "Please don't worry me like that again," she said. Her voice sounded shaky and she was trembling.

Akane's eyes were wide with shock, but her grin returned. "Same goes for me, lover boy," she teased.

"I won't, I promise," I said, putting one arm around Monika. "Well, I feel well enough to continue that tour."

"You sure?" Monika was the one to ask this time, squeezing me tighter.

"You're gonna make me pop if you squeeze any tighter," I said, amused. She began to break the hug, but I pulled her closer. "Thank you…you're the best friend a guy like me could have."

She held me for a little while longer before Akane cleared her throat. We broke the hug and I slowly moved to get out of bed. While I was putting on my slippers, I noticed that Monika's were pink instead of the girl's usual light blue. "Where did you get a pink pair of slippers?" I asked.

"Oh, I found those earlier for her," Akane said. "I didn't even know we had that color."

I slipped into my own light green slippers. "Did you find them in the teacher's room? That's where I found mine."

"I'd always wondered why yours were different," Akane said.

"They suit you, Monika," I said.

She smiled. "Maybe I'll wear them then."

"Well, let's continue the tour. I'll be a little slow, though, so be patient with me," I said. As we toured the school, the headache I had began to slowly go away, or decrease at least. I showed Monika the classrooms, the library, and the clubroom section. As we approached one particular clubroom, I began to feel uneasy. Monika opened the door and we all saw an entire empty classroom. "Whoa, I didn't realize this was a clubroom," I said.

"Which club does this belong to?" Monika asked.

"Actually, this used to be our school's Literature Club's room," Akane said. "but that club doesn't exist right now."

Monika looked sad at that. "That's a shame. How come?"

"The last members left before I started here," I explained as I walked around the room. "I'd have started it up again, but Akane and I wanted to aim for the student council."

Monika giggled. "Always shooting for further heights, eh?"

"Heh, yeah guess so." The uneasy feeling I felt only increased when I got to the corner of the room opposite the door we'd come in. I looked at the clubroom from that angle and for a brief moment a pink box seemed to overlay itself near the bottom of my vision, but only for a second. My headache came back with a vengeance and I stumbled.

Monika caught me. "Whoa there, you sure you're okay?"

"Guess I hit my head harder than I thought," I said, moving away from that corner.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Monika said. She turned to Akane. "Thank you for earier, Mori-san."

"Call me Akane," she said. "Any friend of Damian's is a friend of mine."

"You can call me Monika then," Monika said.

I watched the exchange gladly. I was happy to see the two of them being friendly to each other. "See you at the opening ceremony?" I asked Akane.

"You bet. Get better soon!"

As Monika and I headed back up the hill, she stood close to me. I was reminded of the days during summer vacations when the two of us would walk home together from the pool, the park, or any of the other placed we'd hang out. "It's been a while since we could walk home together, hasn't it?" Monika asked, echoing my thoughts.

"It has. I hope we can do that a lot more now that we're going to the same school."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

* * *

That evening, Monika and her parents were invited over to have dinner with our family. Fortunately, Dad was in town at the time. Hana, Monika and I played in her room until she fell asleep. Monika and I then played a card game together before it was time for her to go.

During the rest of the week Monika and I hung out after I was done with work. We went to a lot of our old haunts and I even showed her what had changed. We didn't do anything too strenuous on her insistence. We talked a lot about the friends we'd made and the memories we'd made in our time apart. I admitted I got a bit jealous when she said she had a crush on someone in middle school, but immediately felt guilty for thinking so when she told me he didn't make much of an effort to spend time with her, even though she said he'd claimed they were friends. "It hurt a lot at the time," she said sadly. "Still does a bit. But I won't stand idly by on the sidelines anymore!" She stood from the bench where we were sitting. "I will make sure I fight for what I want next time, no matter what it takes."

"That sounds a lot like you," I chuckled. "Just don't go too much overboard, okay? There's a fine line between pursuing a relationship and stalking."

She turned to me and pouted. "I know that."

To my delight, she and I ended up in the same class. Makoto was there as well, but Sayori wasn't. She and Akane were in the same class, though, so I was happy she wouldn't be totally alone. The more I got to know Sayori it seemed to me she was constantly putting on an act of happiness. I couldn't be sure, so I confided in Akane about my suspicions. She promised to keep an eye on Sayori.

That year, Monika joined the Academy's Debate Club. She seemed happy during her first few months, although I heard trickling reports from others about some sort of underlying problem with the club. I asked the Student Council to keep an eye on the clubs for any kind of internal political shakeup. I was acquainted with their president a bit from the club president meetings, and he was the type who was a bit inflexible when it came to how clubs were supposed to be run, but to his credit he really loved debating and tried to make the club one worth joining.

During Summer Break I managed to get the myself, Akane, Makoto, Sayori and Monika all together for a weekend getaway to an onsen located near the beach. I wanted to invite Tamara and Keiko as well, but they were not able to join because the two of them were spending their vacations mostly overseas. I didn't tell the people I did invite that I'd spent all my savings on this trip. I tried not to look at all the girls in their swimsuits. Monika wore a white bikini, Sayori wore a blue onepiece and Akane had one of those bikinis where the bottom looks like a skirt. I thought Makoto's eyes would burst out of their skull when the three of them walked over to us. I patted Makoto on the back. "Enjoy it while you can," I chuckled.

When the new school year started, I heard about some new transfer students that had come in. I was glad we got new students but I didn't have the time to meet them. One day while making the rounds I saw a group of female students surrounding someone. I heard laughter and snickering, and I recognized it as being a cruel type of laughter. One of the girls laughed. "What a shrimp you are."

"Hey!" I shouted. The girls heard me, their eyes widened and they rushed off, leaving a smaller girl curled up, clutching something in her hands. She had lighter hair with red ribbons tying some of it up in pigtails. I walked over and kneeled. "Hey there, are you alright?"

She looked up at me. "I-I'm fine," she said, clutching onto what she was holding tighter. I noticed that it was a manga.

"Say, is that _Parfait Girls_?" I asked, pointing to the cover of the manga she was carrying. "I've read that before. It's a good series."

My attempt to cheer the girl up worked. She smiled a bit. "Yeah it is!"

I helped her to her feet. "Sorry for those girls," I said. "I've tried to do something about them, but there's only so much I can do as the Student Council President."

"Whoa, a foreigner is the president?" the girl asked, clearly confused.

This girl sounded a bit familiar too. "Heh, yeah I am. My name is Damian Cancian. It's nice to meet you."

She bowed. "I'm Nomura Natsuki. It's nice to meet you, Cancian-kaichou."

The name caused me to pause. I'd heard that name before, but it took me a few moments to place the name. When I remembered that cute little girl I'd made cupcakes with all those years ago, my face drained. "You're that girl…"

Natsuki tilted her head. "Hmm?"

I quickly pulled her into a quiet corner under a staircase. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Um…should I?"

"You came over to my apartment once. I introduced you to that manga and we made cupcakes."

Her eyes widened in recognition and she stepped away from me, now incredibly angry. "You…"

"I am so sorry!" I then did something I'd never done before. I got on my hands and knees, bowing in utter apology. The guilt I felt at the way I'd treated her when I should have known better came flooding back.

"Kaichou?!" Natsuki sounded shocked. "Wh-what are you doing? Please get up, you're embarrassing me!"

"I treated you so poorly that day…I wanted to apologize for so long…"

She pulled on my hair, causing me to stand. Her eyes were glimmering. "Please stop…" She looked away, obviously trying to hold back tears. "It's okay…we were kids."

"That's no excuse for what I did," I said softly. "Nomura-san, I treated you badly that day. I want to make it up to you."

"Well…if you really want to make it up to me," she said, "I know how…" she looked down, suddenly a bit embarrassed. "Could…could I keep my manga in the Student Council room?"

"Of course you can. Come by after school and I'll set aside some room for you."

I saw Natsuki almost every day that year. The councilmembers became friendlier with her as well. I didn't hear about any other bullying incidents regarding her and those girls. I hoped that the knowledge that she'd become acquainted with the student council.

But that wasn't the only chance encounter with the past I had that year.

* * *

It was a few days before winter break began. The weather had gotten bitingly cold, colder than I remembered it being since being reincarnated here. It was snowing rather heavily outside and I was told that the school would be closing early that particular day so no one would be snowed in, especially those who drove. The student council volunteered to look through the school just in case someone got left behind. My last stop was the school library. "Hello?" I called out. It was dark with most of the desk lights out, but I saw a light at the back of the library still on. I walked up and saw a girl in our school's uniform reading a book. She seemed so intensely focused that it took me a few tries to get her attention.

"Huh, what…?" she looked up at me, looking nervous. "Um…hello?" The girl turned to me and I couldn't help but notice her ample breast size.

"School's closing early today due to the snow," I explained. "You should head home if you don't want to be stuck here."

She seemed to take notice of the room being dark for the first time. "Ah, when did they turn the lights out?" she asked.

"Probably when the announcement was made," I replied. "You must have been reading something good to be caught up in it."

"Just…one of my favorite books," she said, putting it away in her bag.

"I know the feeling," I said. "I tend to get caught up so much in a novel that I lose track of all around me. But you really should get going, um…"

"Tsurumi Yuri. I transferred in after summer break."

That feeling of past familiarity washed over me again. "Tsurumi-san, is it? Pardon me for asking, but did you used to live around this area around eleven or so years ago?"

"Huh? N-no, I've never lived around here."

"Oh," I said, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"I've visited here once, though," Yuri said. "I spent my summer here one year when I was a kid."

"I was right," I said. The two of us exited the dark room and into the brighter hallway. "It is you."

"Um, what do you-?" she froze when she got a good look at me. Her eyes widened and she played with her now long hair nervously. "Damian…it's you…" I saw a small smile on her lips.

"Hey Yuri, it's been a while."

She looked up at me. "Yeah, it really has."

"So…um…I hope you don't get mad at me for asking," I began a bit nervously as we walked down the hall together, "but the cancer-"

"It's gone now," Yuri said, smiling. "I still get checkups every so often, but there's no sign of it returning."

"That's good to hear," I replied. "No child should ever have to go through that. By the way, I love your hair. It suits you."

She played with her hair and blushed. "Ah, thank you Damian. So…what have you been up to?"

"I'm actually the Student Council President," I said sheepishly.

"W-Wow, that's impressive," Yuri said.

"Thank you. What about you? What brings you out here?"

"Well, Mom and Dad travel for work a lot more than they used to, so I moved in with my grandparents this summer. Guess my parents don't like me being alone so much. Wonder why."

"I can think of two big reasons," I said very quietly, but I added aloud "They're probably just worried someone might do something to you. Parents can be pretty protective. My stepmom's protective of my baby sister."

"I see," Yuri said.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm doing my best to ensure that the school is a fun place to be."

Yuri giggled. "I look forward to it."

* * *

Whenever I was making rounds on school days I made sure to check on all my friends. I'd visit Yuri in the library and talk with her a bit, I'd spend some time talking to Natsuki about some of the manga she'd been reading and we'd give each other recommendations, I'd spend time talking to Sayori about anything that could be on her mind that day, and of course I spent time talking to Monika.

It was the talks with Monika I always enjoyed the most. There was never a quiet moment between us, I felt. We could talk about anything and thanks to my efforts to change myself I'd discovered more things that now interested me that we shared. She and I would vent to each other and encourage each other. I felt stirrings inside me I thought I'd suppressed. I was developing a crush on Monika.

* * *

It was during Spring Break between our second and third year that I managed to get all four of those girls together.

It was the first day of spring break and I was planning on inviting the friends I'd made over for a celebration on finishing another year of school successfully. Akane was all for it. Sadly the other two members of the student council weren't as enthusiastic about it and politely declined. Mom was alright with it. "I know you and Monika did those as kids," Mom said, "but you're too old for those. Especially with those of the opposite sex."

"I get it Mom," I said with a smile. "But what if we did it in separate rooms?"

She sighed. "Don't tell you Dad I approved of that."

"I won't," I promised.

The girls all arrived at around the same time except for Sayori who arrived about five minutes later with Makoto. Mom, Hana and I were all making a large dinner for our guests, paid for by yours truly. As it turned out, in the time since Monika and I had been apart, she'd become vegetarian, so I was in charge of preparing her own dinner. When she realized what I was doing, I saw her face go red. "You didn't need to go to all that trouble," she said.

"I wanted to," I said. "Because I want you all to have a good time tonight. I've got a bunch of board games, card games, and yes, even video games to play. But that's not all I have planned. I know at least a couple of you like literature, so I wanted to do some of the things we'd done in my old Literature Club."

Monika smiled widely. "You're so considerate and kind. It's no wonder you have so many friends."

That night was one of the most fun I'd had in a long time. Hana and Mom joined in for some of the games. We did all that I wanted to, and when the five of us put away the last game, everyone told me how much fun they'd had. The girls all slept in the living room while Makoto slept in my room with me. As the two of us listened to the girls talking and giggling, Makoto spoke up. "Hey, Damian, you still awake?"

"Yeah I am," I said softly. "What's up?"

"Do you have a crush on Takanashi-san?"

"Where'd that come from?" I asked, glad that it was dark so he couldn't see my blushing face.

"I was watching how you two interacted today," he said, "and you seemed so happy when she would interact with or sit next to you."

"And what about you and Sayori?" I replied. "It's pretty obvious you like her too."

"Hey, don't try and turn this back at me," he replied, sitting up. "This is about you."

"Tell you what, why don't we both answer each other at the same time. Simple yes or no."

I heard him sigh. "Fine."

"And we have to be perfectly honest about it," I added.

"Fine…then three…two…one."

"Yes."

"Yes."

I felt like a complete pedophile for admitting to liking someone who was still underage. I still couldn't shake the guilt but I couldn't lie to myself anymore. My crush on Monika had turned into full blown love. I reached over and turned my light on. Makoto's face was red, probably as red as mine was. He blinked in the sudden light. "I was right," I said. "You do like her."

He looked down and a look of shame passed over his face. "Yeah, but…I don't deserve her. She's so full of energy and drive and…look at me. I'm a loser. I spend my free time being lazy and playing games."

I shook my head. "Don't go saying depressing things like that," I said. "Listen Makoto, you're both childhood friends for a reason, right? I mean you guys hung out a lot more as kids than Monika and I did, right? You're closer than Monika and I are anyway."

"But ever since high school…we've been drifting apart I feel like."

I moved to sit next to him. Putting a hand on his shoulder I smiled. "So fix that. I know you're an introvert and aren't that good with people. I've hung out with you enough to know that. I won't say you should change, but I would encourage you to make an effort to spend more time with her. Do things with her. Go to the zoo, take walks in the park, hang out at the mall or something. Have fun with her. Don't just lock yourself up in your house."

"It's easy for you…you and Monika are so similar it's enviable," Makoto said. "You're both driven and accomplished students, members of prestigious clubs and extremely popular with members of the opposite sex."

I sighed. "Makoto, listen…Monika and I aren't as similar as you think. When I first moved to Japan I was a lot like you. Unmotivated and lazy, but when I met Monika I strived to be like her. I may be able to beat her in a race now, but I couldn't for years. I still feel like she's completely out of my reach. So I understand how you feel." I cleared my throat and stood. I looked out the window towards Monika's house next door. "But I know that kind of thinking is counter-productive. I'm going to spend as much time as I can with her. I'm going to encourage her in every endeavor she takes. And even if she doesn't feel the same way, I'm going to keep being her friend. I'm going to learn not to compare myself to her. She has things she's better at than I do, and I have things I'm better at." I looked down at Makoto. "I hope that little speech helped."

His jaw had dropped in what looked like surprise. But he stood and smiled a bit. "I feel…a bit more motivated." He held out his fist. I tapped it with my own. "Let's encourage each other in our pursuits."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

The new school year started with a bunch of club drama. I had to deal with the fallout of a large club fight in the Debate Club. It caused a few members, including Monika, to quit. I comforted her on the way home from school that day. She was really distraught, but she told me she wasn't going to wallow in self-pity. She wanted to start a club all her very own. When she said she wanted to restart the Literature Club, I got chills. It wasn't easy to forget my own experiences with my nightmares during those two weeks, and the things Monika told me about her middle school's literature club…I was frightened for her, but I forced myself to remember that it was not only just a dream, it was a coincidence that another literature club president went crazy.

I wasn't surprised when Monika recruited Yuri, but I was surprised when she recruited Natsuki and Sayori. I was even more surprised when she made Sayori vice-president, but when I thought back, I agreed with her choice. Monika began coming to club president meetings with the Student Council after that.

In order to make more time for my studies and council work, I unfortunately had to leave my part time job at the beginning of the new school year. The manager was sad to see me go, but gave me a nice bonus with my last paycheck and told me if I ever wanted to come back, I was welcome to.

During our last summer break, I spent a lot of time with Akane, Monika, Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki and Makoto. The other members of the Student Council headed overseas again. I took everyone once again to the same onsen we'd gone to the last time, only this time I got to see Yuri and Natsuki in bathing suits. I couldn't help but stare at every one of the girls, my adolescent body occasionally overriding my older mind.

The seven of us hung out a lot that summer, even holding a few study days for our summer homework early on. Monika, Akane and I acted a lot like tutors to Natsuki, Sayori and Makoto. Yuri insisted she didn't need any help in most subjects but still asked when she needed to. I was surprised that she asked me a lot. I guess it helped that I was still the highest scoring student in the school.

School started out fairly well after the break. On September 22 I surprised Monika with a birthday party thrown with the help of her club and her parents. She almost began to cry she was so happy.

It was during the week leading up to the school's autumn festival a couple weeks later that things began taking a very ugly turn.

* * *

**Next chapter the events of the game will start to take place, although there will be notable differences. Enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	7. Realizations

"AAAH!"

I woke the morning of that Monday screaming bloody murder. Quickly I grabbed the bottle next to my bed and chugged its entire contents down, keeping the urge to vomit down.

"Onii-chan?" Hana opened my door and looked in. She'd gotten cute and, like me, she was an overachiever. Mom told me it was to impress me, and it was working. I was super proud of my little half-sister. "Are you okay?"

"Hey there, Hana. I just had a nightmare."

She walked over and hugged me. "What was it about?" she asked.

For a ten-year-old, she was pretty mature. "It was the same nightmare I've had before."

Hana and the rest of my family knew about my nightmares now, despite my effort to keep it hidden. Hana's hug on me tightened. "Maybe Mom's right. Maybe you should see someone about this."

I smiled. "I'll be fine. If it gets worse, though, I'll talk to someone. I promise."

She broke the hug. "You'd better keep that promise, Onii-chan."

I took a nice relaxing shower, got into my uniform and headed downstairs. I had an hour before I needed to be at school, so I was able to eat a nice breakfast. The three of us talked about what our schools' festivals would be doing. My class was doing a haunted house. I'd tried to put aside some time to help, but the class representatives told me it was okay if I focused on my President work. Hana's class was doing poetry recitation. "I hope I can see it," Mom said.

"Me too Mom!" Hana said excitedly.

After breakfast I grabbed my bag and headed out. I saw Monika standing outside the wall that surrounded my house waiting. "You're late, Can-kun," she said with a grin.

"Took a longer breakfast than usual, sorry," I said. "That, plus I had a nightmare this morning."

Monika's smiling face turned to one of worry. "What was it about?" she asked.

"The same as usual," I replied instinctively.

"Usual?"

I facepalm. I hadn't told Monika about the nightmares yet. I cleared my throat and explained the nightmares, the floating in the endless screaming void, the realization that the world wasn't real and just a game and that I was trapped, the coding trying to delete me. "I've had those nightmares for years, and they don't stay around long. The longest they've stuck around was two weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Damian?" she asked, clearly upset with me now.

"You're right, I should have told you earlier," I said, "but I didn't want you to-"

"Don't say you didn't want to worry me," Monika said, glaring. "I'm your best friend, I want you to be happy, not bogged down with nightmares."

"I promise I'll not hide anything like that from you again," I said, although there was no guarantee that she'd believe me if I told her that Dad and I were reincarnated from another world.

"You'd better," she said, before smiling. As the two of us walked, we talked about the festival. When I mentioned what my sister was doing for her class Monika's eyes widened. "That sounds fun!" she said excitedly.

"What about your club, Monika? I know you only just started the Literature Club, but have you thought about what to do for the festival? I'll need to know very soon. In fact, I should have known a while ago."

"I'm still thinking about it," Monika admitted sheepishly. "Although today Sayori promised she'd be bringing Makoto to the club. She really wants him to join."

"About time that lazy nerd joined a club," I said. "I've been trying to gently push him towards a club like the Anime Club since I've known him, but he's a bit dense, if you ask me."

Monika giggled. "That's true. But anyway, I'll have something by the end of the day."

"Glad to hear it."

When we both got to school we went to our classroom. I was happy that I was in the same class as Monika again, but that was the only friend I had in my senior class. We'd all been split up and placed in different classrooms. When classes ended Monika stood and told me she'd be heading to the clubroom. "See you later."

"I might drop by for a little bit later," I said.

She smiled and left. I went down to the Student Council room and the four of us took care of some business. However, all that time I had an inexplicable feeling of dread rising in me. Akane noticed my attitude and asked me what was wrong. I told her my nightmare had returned. "Seriously, Damian, you should get that checked out."

"It's just a nightmare, though," I said.

"Talk to someone professional," she suggested.

"If it gets worse I will," I said.

We ended early that day and I walked down to the Literature Club. When I knocked, I heard Monika say "Come in, Can-kun!"

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked as I opened the door.

"Ahaha, well, no one else would be coming down here," she said. "And besides, you said you'd be coming."

The girls were sitting around a few desks arranged to become a table. There were cupcakes on the desk, each intricately decorated with cute kitten faces. Yuri was carrying a teapot with five teacups. When she saw me she looked a bit distressed. "Ah, Damian-san," she said nervously. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I just wanted to see how your newest member was doing." I smiled at Makoto.

"Hold on, I never said I'd join," Makoto said.

The mood in the room instantly soured. The girls' faces fell. Monika looked to be at a loss for words, Sayori just looked depressed, Natsuki looked disappointed and Yuri looked a bit embarrassed. I walked over and leaned down. "Why not join?" I whispered. "This is your chance to get closer with Sayori."

He seemed surprised, almost as if he'd not thought about that. He grinned. "You're right, what was I thinking?" He looked up at the girls. "Alright, I've decided. I'll join the club."

The girls perked up at this, especially Sayori. I stepped back and was about to leave when I felt a hand on my sleeve. I turned and saw it was Monika. "Thanks, Can-kun. I appreciate it," she whispered.

"You're welcome," I said.

"Can you stick around for a bit?" Monika's tone sounded shaky suddenly.

"Y-Yeah, I think I can. I don't have anything much to do for the Student Council today. We ended early."

"Good news, everyone," Monika said. "Our Student Council President said he could stay with us today!" Monika announced immediately.

"I didn't make enough cupcakes for six," Natsuki complained.

"And I don't have enough cups," Yuri said, embarrassed.

"That's okay you guys," I said. "I'm not a club member, so you don't need to feel obligated to-"

The world around me seemed to flicker. One instant I saw the five members of the Literature Club, but the next I saw an outline of the room, all in code. White background…black code. Above the four girls I saw their names in English with a file extension after their names, .chr. But above Makoto I saw something else. Not his name…but the moniker PLAYER with the same file extension. I looked down at my hands, only to see an infinitely more complex code overlaying my fingers. A pink box appeared in front of my vision and the words "Can-kun? Are you okay?" The box resembled a typical conversation box seen in many visual novels. I stepped back and tripped, hitting my head on the edge of a desk.

Instantly the vision vanished and I found myself back in the room with the members of the club. Monika rushed over to me. "Damian!?" she repeated, only now I could hear her voice. "What happened? You looked super scared and then tripped."

"Y-Yeah sorry, I just…it's been a stressful few weeks, guess I spaced out."

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked. "It was like you were looking through us."

"Through you?" I frowned. "Huh…well I'm feeling better now." I hated lying to them, but I couldn't let the girls see their friend and Student Council President losing it right before an important school festival. The others seemed to accept this, but Monika looked right at me with an unreadable expression on her face. She nudged her head towards the door slightly. "Although I could use something cold to drink," I added, understanding her intention. "I'll get something from the vending machine. Be right back."

"Me too," Monika said.

"You don't want tea?" Yuri asked, sounding hurt.

"Ah no, I'll still have some," Monika said quickly, "I just want something cold too. Be back soon." As the two of us walked down the hall, Monika nudged me. "Be honest with me, what happened back there?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said somberly. "I don't even believe it."

"You weren't spacing out," she said in a rare accusatory tone. "You were looking at us all, but it was like you were suddenly afraid."

"You really wouldn't-"

"Stop saying I won't believe you!" Monika shouted, shoving me against the wall angrily. "I'm your best friend! Why is it so hard to trust me…?" I saw tears form in her eyes.

"Alright I get it," I said. "But I can't tell you here. Come over to my place later. I'll tell you what happened then, okay?"

She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Fine, but no holding back okay?"

"I won't."

When I returned to the clubroom with Monika, I saw the four talking and laughing together. I was happy that they'd all become close friends. Makoto was sitting next to Sayori and Monika and I must have walked in right after he teased her because she was pouting and pressing her fingers together. "Meanie…" she said.

"Did your precious Ma-kun say something mean again?" I asked, laughing while using Sayori's pet name for Makoto.

"Only Sayori's allowed to say that about me," Makoto said. His tone had a slightly threatening tone to it.

"Okay okay fine, geez," I said as I took a sip of my melon soda. I took a seat near the back and watched the club members interact with each other. Makoto seemed a little different to me, but I figured I was just imagining it. He seemed a bit more motivated, although being surrounded by cute girls surely had something to do with it.

When Monika announced that her plan for the festival was for everyone to perform poems, I saw Yuri and Natsuki get a little nervous. "Hey, if Hana-chan's class can do it, we can do it too," Monika said, looking at me with a wry smile.

"H-Hana-chan's doing it?" Yuri asked, turning to me curiously.

"Heh, yeah she is. She's looking forward to it."

"I wish we could watch," Natsuki said.

"Mom's gonna be there," I said. "She'll probably record it. I'll ask her to give me a copy so we all can watch."

"Yay!" Sayori said, grinning. For some reason, I was acutely aware now that Sayori's grin was only partly genuine.

"It's a good idea," I said. "I'll make sure to include that in the brochures we'll be making."

When the club was over, I packed my things and waited for Monika. I walked with her down to drop off the clubroom keys then we headed home. The walk was silent and ominous. I was debating what to tell her in my mind all the way home. I wondered if I should tell her everything about myself, that I was some reincarnated guy from another universe who was murdered thanks to my Mom. I was so scared she'd be turned off from me. It sucked that Dad wasn't home to confirm that part of the story.

"Can-kun? You look nervous." Looking up I was met with Monika's sparkling but worried green eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said instinctively, but Monika's glare gave me pause. "It's just…a lot of what I have to say…a lot of what I haven't told you about me…a normal person would find it hard to believe, no, impossible." I couldn't help myself. I was spilling the beans a bit in front of the girl I had a crush on.

"Damian…look at me." I looked up. She looked hurt. "I'll believe you, no matter how crazy your story is. Don't you trust me enough to believe me?"

I felt incredible guilt. "Just…promise me that you won't stop being my friend even if you don't believe me…"

Monika looked startled. "This isn't like you, Can-kun. You look pale."

"Yeah, I feel terrible."

She put her forehead against mine. I blushed as she checked my temperature. "You don't have a fever. Did you eat lunch today?"

"I'm fine," I said. "I had a good breakfast and lunch."

"Well, if you're sure. Hey, let's actually go to my place. My parents are out of town for this week." I nodded and we headed to Monika's house. She told me to lie on the couch and rest. "I'm gonna make you some porridge."

I lay down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. My eyes grew heavy and I slipped into sleep.

* * *

I'm standing above my body now. I hear some piano music playing a familiar tune. The world is just code in the shape of the objects in Monika's living room. My body isn't made of black code like everything else. The lettering of the code on my body is green and it seems more intricate than any of the others that I saw earlier. The name above my head reads [RESTRICTED]. I watch as Monika walks in. Her name still hovers over her head, but her coding seems to be more intricate than before. It isn't as intricate as mine yet, but the color seems to be a very dark green instead of the black it was earlier. She leans down and strokes my hair. The same pink box from before appears with her name in the identification box. "Oh Can-kun, please be alright."

The words **Monika hovered over Damian, her face worried** appears in the text box.

The scene before me begins to glitch again and I hear the screams of the void coming back. I feel myself being dragged away. I fight the invisible hands pulling me. "NO! I WON'T GO BACK!" I try to scream, but nothing comes out. "MONIKA! HELP MEEEEE!"

* * *

I shot up from my nightmare, screaming in terror. Beside me Monika had been setting a bowl of porridge down on her coffee table. She looked scared as I clutched my head. "Can-kun?!"

I curled up. "No…no no no no…I refuse to believe it…it's just not possible…"

"Damian!? What's wrong?" Monika sounded terrified. "You're scaring me…"

I took a few deep breaths to keep myself from throwing up. "Water…please hurry."

She ran and returned moments later with a large glass. I swallowed it greedily. "Guh…that's better."

"Damian, what were you dreaming about? And you'd better be honest with me."

"Hold on, gimme a second…" I put the now empty glass down. Monika left and brought back a large pitcher of water. She poured me another glass and I drank it down as well. "Monika…I think I'm going insane. I'm…seeing things. Things that don't make sense." I explained my latest nightmares and my daydreaming. "Am I going crazy? Do I need to be taken away, hoho, hee hee haha?"

Monika's eyes were wide. Slowly, she moved to sit next to me. "You're not crazy, Damian."

"What do you mean?"

"I did come over earlier while you were sleeping and I said that exact thing." Monika hugged her knees. "And as for your nightmares…I had a very similar one earlier this morning." She quickly explained her nightmare. Apparently she woke up in the clubroom alone. She wandered the school only to find she was entirely alone. She wandered through the school and found that the school was alone. She described the nightmare so vividly that I was reminded of my own first nightmares when I was president of my middle school's literature club. When I told her this, she looked even more scared. "What's happening to me? To us?" She clutched her head like I had earlier. "Someone help…"

I quickly pulled her into a hug. She quickly held me and I heard her quietly sobbing. "I don't know…I'm scared too…"

The two of us held each other like that for a while. When we broke the hug, Monika smiled ruefully. "Your porridge is cold now."

"I'll eat it cold," I said. "You made it for me, after all."

She shook her head. "Let me reheat it." She put it in the microwave and brought it back a few minutes later. She sat next to me as I ate her cooking. "Was it good?"

"Yeah, it helped calm me down," I said. "Thank you, Monika."

"Damian…" she looked at me pleading. "I don't want to be alone in the house tonight. Could you stay with me?"

I knew Mom would never go for it. I shook my head. "Why don't you stay with me instead? I'm sure Hana would love to have a sleepover with her Monika-onee-chan."

That brought a smile to Monika's face. "That would be nice. I'll be over soon, okay?"

I nodded and headed over, telling my mom that Monika was coming over. "She's not too keen on spending the night alone at her house today. Rough day at school."

"Alright, that's fine. She can sleep in your or Hana's room. If she sleeps in your room, though, I expect you on your best behavior. I wouldn't be letting you have a girl in your room if you didn't already earn my trust. Don't make me regret that."

I was surprised by her candor, and I thanked her. "I won't do anything bad, I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

Monika came over a half hour later, wearing a pair of jeans and a pink sweater. Hana was excited to see her and wanted to perform the poem she would be reciting. Monika listened as Hana performed The Road Less Traveled by Robert Frost in decent English. Monika, Mom and I clapped as she took her bow. "That was incredible, Hana-chan," Monika said. "I wish I could see you perform that at your festival, but our school's having its own festival."

Dinner that night was an Italian cuisine of spaghetti. Mom made Monika's without meatballs. Monika and I played a bit with Hana before she went to sleep. An hour later the two of us were in my room getting ready for bed. Monika was lying her uniform out on my desk chair. Her pajamas were all pink and I couldn't help but steal glances as they showed off her curves. She took her sleeping bag out. Looking over at me, she asked "Damian, could we watch something for a bit?"

I turned on my TV but kept the volume down. For a half hour we watched a local drama in silence. When Monika's head landed on her pillow, I turned off the TV. "Good night," I whispered as I lay down. Sleep finally overtook me.

And I dreamed.

* * *

**Again, another unexpected turn. Let's see where it goes from here.**

**morbiusgreen**


	8. Second Day

The screaming void returns, but something is different. It's as if my mind is being expanded as I am forced to listen to the wailing and moaning. I look around and take a deep breath. "It's a dream Damian," I tell myself, taking deep breaths. "Phew, glad I remember this now. Okay…"

"Damian?!"

I turn and see a humanoid figure covered in dark green coding. The outline looks familiar. "Monika? That is you, right?"

I focus and she becomes more real. She's reaching out to me. As soon as we touch, we both become real. "Well at least this dream is better than the last ones," I say. "I've got you here."

"This is my dream," Monika says confused, but she smiles. "And yes, I'm glad you're here too."

I look around. "The screaming void…would you all just shut up!?" To my surprise the voices stop. "Well…good to know I can make that happen." I look around and finally realize for that Monika and I are illuminated but by no visible light source.

"Hey, what's that in front of your face?" Monika asks.

I look at where she's pointing and see a gray window with a simple white cursor flashing. "Well huh, what is that?" I reach out and my hand goes through it. Looking over at Monika, I see that one of the same windows has appeared near her. "You've got one too."

She looks to her left and her eyes widen. "Damian, what's going on?"

A string of code appears across the screen. fp = open(filename, "yuri_tsurumi") "What the hell…?"

Monika maneuvers herself to hover beside me. "Yuri?"

Looking at each other we nod. I look back and instantly the screen is filled with jumbled of words and numbers and other symbols. I look at it with Monika standing beside me. "Seriously, what does this all mean?" I ask as I watch the code move down slowly. "Character parameters…? Likes and dislikes?"

"Look!" Monika points to a word above the moving screen. I then notice a string of unmoving words, like File, Edit and such. I look at the Edit option and the screen flashes. A cursor appears next to the words. "What the hell…?"

"We can edit files?" A rush of fear washes over me. "Nope, no editing!" The screen flashes again and the parameters begin scrolling. Something catches my eye that makes my body run cold. "Self-harm…?" Looking over at Monika, she is looking at me with a look of horror on her face.

"I really hope this is a dream," Monika says, voice trembling, "because I didn't want to know that about Yuri…"

"This doesn't feel like the normal dreams I've been having," I say. "It feels way too real."

Everything goes dark and the screaming returns, only now it's closing in. I try to squeeze Monika's hand, but I feel nothing. The screams overwhelm me and I scream in response. Something grabs my throat and squeezes…

* * *

I shot out of my bed, screaming once again. I clutched at my throat, panting heavily. Monika was sitting up as well, sweat beading down her face. Quickly I grabbed my water bottle and swallowed a few sips to calm myself before tossing it over to Monika, who eagerly swallowed a lot more. I leaned against the wall. It was still dark outside and the clock read 4:32 AM. I rubbed my eyes. "Monika…did you dream about…looking at Yuri's character file?"

She got up and sat next to me. "It was terrifying, but not as much since you were there."

"Did we just share a dream?" I asked.

Monika nodded. "I think so…"

"This can't be happening…it can't…" Suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of anger. "No of course it can," I said hotly through gritted teeth. Looking up I said to the being who'd brought my Dad and I here, "You did this, didn't you?!"

"Damian, who are you talking to?"

I sighed. "It wasn't anyone important."

"Don't lie to me," she said. "You aren't telling me everything."

The feeling of fear of not being believe creeped back into my mind, but I resisted the urge to say so. "I know…and you deserve to know the truth."

"I'm listening," she said, and her tone was one of reassurance.

I cleared my throat and began. I told her about how I had died along with my Dad and how some unknown being had reincarnated me and my Dad into our younger bodies. She listened attentively and when I was done I almost flinched, waiting for her to tell me about how this was all just some elaborate lie I'd said to hide the truth. She sighed and leaned on my shoulder. "I can't say I believe that incredible story," she began, "but seeing as we're both experiencing this strange new world, I can't write it off either."

"Damn it…we really are in some game, aren't we?" I said.

"I…I think so."

"All of our friends…my stepmom, my sister…? You?"

Monika nodded somberly. "Yeah, I think so."

Something occurred to me suddenly. "I…just realized something."

"What?" Monika looked at me.

"Monika, that girl who went crazy in your middle school's literature club, she was the president of that club, right?"

"Yeah…what about it?"

"I was president of my middle school's literature club, and now you're the president of the high school literature club. Look at the pattern here."

"Oh…it affects presidents of literature clubs?" Monika looked down and considered. "I mean, that does make sense, but I haven't heard of other literature club presidents being affected."

"Yeah, that makes sense, so we're missing something here," I said.

"This is a lot to take in," Monika said after a few minutes of silence passed between us.

"Yeah it is," I agreed. "Oh, what kind of game do you think we're in?"

Monika frowned. "Well…I think…a dating sim?"

"What makes you think that?"

"With my middle school's literature club, there were only girls until a guy joined before the festival. When the festival was over, he was actually dating one of the girls in the club."

Something clicked into place again. The same thing had happened in my middle school's literature club. A guy joined during our last year and at the end of the festival he was dating one of the girls. "Huh…you know that makes so much sense. The same thing happened in my club. It would also explain what happened yesterday." Before she could ask, I told Monika about what I'd seen.

Monika's expression changed to horror. "Player?! Makoto's the player?"

I nodded. "Yes, his name file wasn't even Makoto."

"This is so messed up."

"No argument here." I sighed. "So, in our dreams we can access character files, but what about when we're awake?" Suddenly the same screen from before appeared in my upper lefthand vision. It centered in front of me, the cursor blinking. "I guess we can access the files when we're awake too." A hovering keyboard appeared in front of me.

"So how do we do this?" Monika asked.

"I've never taken any kind of coding class and I don't have any clue what kind of code we saw earlier." I went over to my desktop and turned it on. "Let's hope Google has some answers."

It took us a half hour, but eventually we discovered that the coding we'd seen was Python. "Okay, let's see if we can order some basic coding knowledge." I ordered an e-book version and downloaded it onto my Kindle. Monika got close and looked over my shoulder. "Chapter One…"

Monika and I spent the next few hours getting acquainted with the initial basics of Python coding. When the sun began to rise, Monika and I got ready for school. Mom had made us a breakfast of oatmeal, something she said she wanted to try ever since Dad told her about it. To her credit she got it down pretty well. I added honey to mine and Monika did as well. We agreed to try and act natural around everyone else while we sorted out the mess we'd gotten into.

"Do you think we're both hallucinating the same things?" I asked as the two of us walked to school together.

"It's possible I guess," Monika said. "There's a few ways we can test it though." She opened her console and opened up Yuri's file again.

"We're not messing with their files," I warned.

"Why not? They're not real, right?"

"They're real enough," I countered. "We aren't going to mess with the lives of our friends. Like it or not, they're still our friends."

She sighed. "I understand. I won't do anything, but I wasn't going to in the first place. Remember what we saw last night? If this is correct, Yuri self-harms. Let's check." She scrolled through the floating screen. "There it is. She cuts, huh?" She closed the window.

"We need to check somehow," I said. "Don't you have PE with her today?"

"No, but Natsuki does," she said. "I'll ask her to check on Yuri when she changes."

"If Yuri does cut herself," I said, "she'll probably change somewhere in private so she won't show her arms. People who hurt themselves hide it a lot of the time."

As we continued on to school, we actually saw Natsuki walking ahead. We called out to her. She stopped and turned. She looked exhausted but brightened when Monika tossed her an energy bar. "What's up with you two?" she asked. "You look terrible."

I was always surprised at how perceptive Natsuki could be. "We were up way too early and couldn't sleep," I said without thinking.

"We?"

Realizing my mistake, I tried to cover. "Monika told me she didn't sleep much either. Guess we're both kind of like Amakusa Shino."

"Who?" Natsuki asked.

"Long story. Listen Natsuki, we need a favor from you."

As we explained, Natsuki's expression remained stone faced. We explained that we had reason to believe that Yuri self-harmed and we wanted her help to confirm it. "I don't want to believe it for a minute," she said, "but I will look. There'd better be some more of those bars for me in it later!" She grinned as she ran to school.

"You know, I always wondered why Natsuki's so small," I said randomly as we continued to walk. "Is it genetic? Or is there something else we're missing? Some medical condition?"

"We can find out now," Monika said.

"I guess, but…I don't know, it feels like we're snooping where we shouldn't whenever we open their character files," I said.

"Damian, you and I are the only ones who're aware. It shouldn't matter if we look at some random scrap of code."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Monika!" She seemed startled at my outburst. "We're not going to start playing God here! This kind of power we have…it's dangerous. I don't want to use it to start fucking with the lives of people. Try anything and I'll disband your club."

Her eyes widened. "I…I know you're right. I don't know what I was-Can-kun!?"

I suddenly grabbed her and brought her in for a tight hug. "Just keep on going as normal. I'm not saying we shouldn't experiment with these abilities we have, if we have them at all, but we will not be messing with people. That's a line we absolutely cannot cross."

She tentatively held me. I could feel her softly cry. Thankfully no one else saw us as we were in a shady corner underneath some trees. Her hug grew tighter and she clung to my shirt. "I don't want this…"

"Me neither," I admitted, holding her protectively now, "but unlike that girl from your school, we have each other." I looked into her eyes. "We can do this. We can be strong, you and me. Together. And if we need some help, we can let the others know." I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Even if she was code in a computer game, she knew what she was. That made her alive to me.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Thanks. I feel better."

The first half of the day went by slowly. During lunch Monika and I went to meet with Natsuki. The look on her face was confirmation enough. "How'd you two know?"

"I'd…rather keep that to myself," I said.

"Natsuki, don't mention this to anyone, not even Sayori," Monika said. "She'd be the one who would want to confront Yuri about it and that's not what she needs now."

"But…"

"Monika and I will figure something out," I promised. "For now, we're going to just try and enjoy this festival. All of us."

"She didn't like that," Monika said as we walked back to class.

"Trust me, I don't either, but we can't just turn things off. Problems like this need to be dealt with without the use of magic."

"Magic?"

"Well, what we're able to do now could only be considered magic," I said.

Monika stopped in her tracks. I stopped with her. "Huh…magic huh?"

"Monika…I don't like that look in your eyes. You're scheming something." I'd seen that look in her eyes before whenever she was plotting something. "Don't hide what you're planning."

"I was just thinking…" Monika said, "could we program magic into the entire world?"

"Where'd that idea come from?" I asked.

"Sorry, just a thought."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said as we turned a corner towards our classroom. "We need to focus on learning the most basic of programming first before we even consider making changes to the world."

She nodded. "I understand and I agree."

After the school day was over Monika and I left to go to our separate clubs. Akane was waiting for me as were the others. The four of us discussed the festival and what needed to be done. The girls and I figured out schedules and such. When we ended, I grabbed my stuff to leave, but Akane stopped me. "Damian, you've been distracted today. You're worried about something other than the festival, aren't you?"

Akane knew me a lot better than most people. I sighed. "It's hard to explain," I said. "It's like I've had an epiphany. Not only that, but I'm dealing with some issues that I'm not comfortable discussing at the moment."

"I see." She smiled sadly at me. "Just try not to break before the festival, alright?"

I chuckled. "Haha, I won't."

"Just know that I'm here to talk if you need it," she said.

"I may take you up on that someday," I said. "Thanks, Akane. Well, I'm off."

"Gonna hang at the literature club again?" she asked.

"Sure am," I said.

"Can I go with you?"

I wasn't expecting this, but I shrugged. "Sure why not?"

I walked down with A kane, talking and laughing with her. It felt almost as if the realization that we were in a game was just a bad dream. But that realization came back the moment we entered the clubroom and I locked eyes with Monika. I noticed that her smile was initially almost plastered on her face, like she was faking it. When she saw the two of us, I saw her give me a more genuine smile. "Can-kun! Akane! It's nice to see you guys! What brings you here?"

"Two friends can't stop by?" Akane asked, grinning.

"Ahaha, of course you can, but don't you two have a lot to do?" she asked.

"We finished earlier than we expected again," I said.

"That's the student council president for ya," Natsuki said, grinning. "So hardworking."

I blushed. "Heh, thanks Natsuki."

"Why don't you come join us?" Yuri asked. "We were just about to share poems."

"Poems?" Akane looked confused.

"They wrote poems today," I explained. "Can we read them?"

Yuri and Natsuki looked a little nervous, but Sayori said "Yeah of course!"

"D-Do you want some tea?" Yuri asked. "I don't have any teacups for you, but I do have some plastic cups."

"I'd like that," I said. "Thanks, Yuri."

Akane and I split up. She went to hang with Sayori and I sat in a corner. I brought out my Kindle and continued studying Python coding. The girls each brought me their poems. I asked them if I could take pictures of them because I wanted to think about them further. When Monika finally came up, she showed me hers. She'd named it **Into the Void**.

_What is this, where am I?  
__I am floating in an eternal void.  
__Screams surround me, the sounds of the damned  
__Fill the air with terror and pain.  
__Who can save me from this pain?  
__The hole towards infinite choices  
__Opens before me, but is there a choice for me?  
__"Don't despair," a voice says. "I am here for you."  
__I turn and see another, bathed in white. He extends his hands  
__And I extend mine…_

I looked up at her. "Monika…" I reached my hand out. She instantly clasped my hand and squeezed them. "I am and always will be here for you, don't forget it."

"Oh, just start dating you two," Akane's voice broke the moment Monika and I were sharing. We released each others' hands instantly. "Sheesh, it's painful watching this," I heard her murmur. Her face got serious. "What's with you two today? First Damian's not as focused as he normally is, and then you too Monika. I know you two are hiding something from me."

Monika and I looked at each other warily, then I rubbed my eyes. "Akane…I wish I could tell you, I really do. But the two of us need to sort some things out before we tell everyone else."

"I promise we will explain everything," Monika reassured Akane with a soft smile.

Akane frowned. "…Alright, I'll believe you. But you'd better tell me first before everyone else."

"It's a promise," I said.

"Um, hello?" Makoto's voice broke into our conversation. "Would you three like to see my poem?"

"Sure!" Monika smiled again, but I saw the fakeness behind it now. "Hand it here."

Monika and I looked at it carefully. It wasn't a poem at all, just a bunch of random words strung together. I cleared my throat. "Well, this is certainly an interesting poem. Tell me, did you write this for anyone? Or did you have anyone in mind when you wrote it?"

Makoto looked a bit surprised. "Ah, um…well…"

"Never mind, if it's embarrassing, you don't have to say," I said. "Good poem, though."

He smiled. "Thanks you guys. What about you, Akane?"

Akane's face was a mask of confusion. She looked up at me and pulled me aside. "Okay, you really need to tell me what's going on now."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Her next words chilled me. "I'm no poem expert," she said, "but I'm pretty sure twenty random words don't count as a poem."

* * *

**This story's taking a life of its own! HEELP! Just kidding, enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	9. Experiments

The walk to my house was tense and silent. I walked between Akane and Monika, trying to order my thoughts. It was strange that the other girls didn't seem to notice the fact that Makoto-no, PLAYER's poems-were just a string of words. Completely random. No rhyme or reason. As I looked at the image on my phone, I noticed that a majority of the words were similar in theme. They reminded me a bit of Sayori. _Family, Happiness, Daydream_ and words of that sort were the majority of PLAYER's poems. And the font looked too artificial.

"Mom? I'm home. I brought a couple people over to study, is that okay?" I asked as I came in.

Mom looked out from the kitchen where she was busy cleaning. "That's fine. Do you two want to stay for dinner?"

"Yeah, I asked them to stay for dinner," I said, "but is it okay if we eat in my room? The three of us have some important things to discuss in private."

Mom looked at us concerned. "As long as you're neat and clean about it, I don't mind…"

"Thanks. We'll be up in my room until then."

The moment the door was closed, Akane whirled on Monika and me. "Alright you two, spill it. What the hell is going on?!"

"That's…not so easy to explain," Monika said nervously.

"Try anyway!"

It had been a while since I'd seen Akane this upset. The last time had been when she found out I knew her fanclub had cheated in the race with me. "Bear with me here," I said as I walked over to stand shoulder to shoulder with her. I focused and a command console appeared in the center of my vision. "Akane, do you see anything in front of my face?"

Akane looked at the screen. "What am I looking for? Wait…I think I see…what is that gray box thing?" She blinked her eyes, rubbed them and stared at the console again. "What is that?"

"It's part of what we've been hiding from you the past day," Monika admitted. "Look over here." Monika had pulled up her own screen.

"I can barely make it out…what are those things?" Akane sounded more and more freaked out.

"We'll tell you when you calm down," I said softly.

Akane sat at my desk and took a few deep breaths. "I think you'd better explain from the top."

The two of us took turns explaining what we'd discovered, the nightmares, discovering that our world was nothing more than a dating simulator, and the relationship to literature clubs. She listened to us carefully. When we were done she stood. "You're both insane…"

Monika and I looked down sadly. "I know this is impossible to believe-" I began but she cut me off with a look.

"Let me finish," she said, "You're both insane…is what I really want to say. I really don't want to believe what you have to say, but I can see them now. The two floating rectangles in front of you." She pointed at my command console then to Monika's. "I'm surprised you haven't both had a nervous breakdown."

"Because we have each other," Monika said quickly, blushing. "That one girl we mentioned had no one to help her."

"That's not the only reason," she said. She sat back down. "When I entered the clubroom today my first action was to look at Makoto. He looked unnaturally handsome and my heart skipped a beat. That wasn't the first time that happened either." She turned to me. "Remember back in middle school? When Kenta joined? I felt the same way."

Monika and I looked at each other. "Monika? What about you?"

She frowned. "No I haven't. After all-" and she walked quickly towards me suddenly and pulled me to my feet. "I have you."

"M-Monika?!"

Akane watched this with a small smile. "Go girl," she said.

"Damian…this is probably the worst time to say anything like this," she said as she wrapped her arms around me and lay her head on my chest. "I…I've been in love with you since we were kids. I was just so scared to say so. I wanted to confess when I left, but I couldn't…and when we met again you were the same but different. You were such an accomplished student…I didn't feel worthy to confess."

I couldn't believe it. The girl I'd had a crush on was confessing to me in my own room with a witness. However, I realized that she might be confessing because she was scared. I pulled her close. "You stole the words out of my mouth. I'm in love with you too, but I don't feel worthy of you either. I always felt you were out of reach and I could only confess when we were on the same level…"

Monika held me closer. "Please don't say that…it hurts."

I'd been a child too long. I realized I slipped back into more childish thinking without realizing it. I took a deep breath. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But neither should you." I looked at her closely. "We shouldn't have made it a competition. I love you, that's all that matters."

She wrapped her arms around my neck, face red. I pulled her close, completely focused on Monika. There was a flash and the sound of a camera snapping. I looked at Akane who had her phone out, snapping a picture of us. "Picture perfect," she said, quickly sending the image to both of us.

It was embarrassing to see, but I tried to look at it from a neutral perspective. I saw two people in love looking at each other as if they were the only people in the world. I turned to Akane. "Thanks Akane."

"Hey, it's an important memory," she replied.

I looked back at Monika who was looking at me. I rubbed her hair "You're right, this wasn't the best time. I won't say the worst time, but not the best." I held her close again. "Right now isn't the best time for us to do any dating. We need to focus on figuring out what's happening here. When that's done-" I lifted her head to face mine, "then I will ask you to go out with me. And we can confess to each other again."

The teary smile she gave me made me start to believe that the two of us would get through this together without any issues. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Akane had joined us. "I'm really happy you two finally confessed," she said. "You're perfect for each other. Now, let's focus on the subject at hand please?" She pointed in front of her. I gasped as I saw a slightly visible gray window forming in front of Akane. "I believe you two now."

"Akane…I'm so sorry…" Monika said. She looked guilt-ridden now.

Akane shook her head. "I'm the one who insisted you tell me. I'm just gonna have to accept that this world is just a game." She looked at the two of us. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Actually…yes," I said, "although it doesn't have much to do with the first thing. It's about me…" I explained to her my own little secret.

When I was done she sighed. "That's even harder to accept but I don't sense that you're lying and you're definitely not mad. For now, let's focus on the first problem."

All evening the three of us studied Python together. When dinner was ready we all went, grabbed the plates that Mom had prepared for us and went back upstairs where we continued to practice. I was the first one to manage to create something. I triumphantly held up the glass of ice water in my hands while the girls applauded. I took a sip. "Man, that is cold," I said, putting the glass down. I pulled out one of the ice pieces and held it in my hands. Slowly the ice melted. "Alright, so we can create simple objects."

"You can," Monika said. She sounded envious.

"Maybe it's because he's from an actual real world?" Akane asked.

"Not sure how that follows," I murmured. "Why don't you two try again?"

Monika was the second. She created a mug of steaming liquid. She sniffed it, took a sip and giggled. "Yuri'd love this."

"Tea?" I asked.

"Yeah."

Akane took a bit longer to create something, but when she did I was surprised to see it was one of those complicated Rubix cubes. She looked at it and smiled. "I always wanted one of these things."

"That's…actually impressive," I said. Now I was the one sounding envious. "Okay, we can create things, but what about deleting them?" I looked at the glass of water I'd created. Quickly I implemented the code. In a blink the water glass vanished along with the contents. I shuddered. "Imagine…doing this to a person."

Monika and Akane looked horrified. "Oh God…" Akane's tone was quiet, almost as if she'd just come to the realization that these powers were too dangerous. "Do you think…we should stop this?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," I said. "We need to know more about these abilities."

"But we must limit ourselves," Monika said. "We need to agree not to mess with the people we care about. Or anyone. That would make us…monsters."

"I'm glad you finally get it," I said. "I'm sure it's easier to think of the people here as nothing more than pieces of code, but I've grown up surrounded by these people. I met the girls in the literature club over the course of my time in this world. I don't want to see anything happen to them."

"Me neither…" Monika said. She clung to my arm.

"Okay, should we continue or stop? It is getting a bit late." I looked at the clock and noticed that it's almost nine.

"Crap! I should have headed home a while ago!" Akane stood.

"About that," I said, "I'd like if you stayed with Monika tonight. Her parents are out of town and I'm worried about my girlfriend staying alone."

Monika's face went red the moment I said girlfriend. Akane looked at the two of us and smiled. "If Monika's fine with it, I don't mind staying with her. Just gotta call my mom and let her know."

"I'd like that a lot," Monika said. She looked at the two of us gratefully. "Thank you, you two."

We said our goodbyes and then Monika and Akane left. Mom was still up and watching TV. I walked into the living room and collapsed next to her. Silently Mom pulled my head into her lap. "M-Mom?"

"You're so stressed," Mom said, rubbing my hair tenderly. "Remember when I used to do this with you?"

I smiled up at her. "I miss it," I admitted. It was nice having a loving mother, I reflected. In many aspects, this second childhood I'd been granted was so much nicer. I'd made more friends than I ever did in my first life, I didn't laze around and studied my ass off. I was one of the top students in school and I had never been in better health. Dad also was in better health and was a lot happier with his job too. I would sometimes catch Mom feeling Dad's chest up.

"Do you want me to clean your ears?" Mom's question broke me out of my reverie.

"I'd like that," I said.

She went and grabbed the ear cleaning kit then sat back down. I lay my head back on her lap and she began. With one hand she cleaned my ear and with the other she rubbed my hair and forehead. "What's troubling you?" she asked. "I know you're not just worried about the upcoming festival."

I smiled. Mom might be more on the quiet side (she reminded me of Yuri a bit in that regard) but she wasn't an idiot. "Hey Mom…"

"Yes?" she sounded expectant.

"When you were in school, did your schools have a literature club?"

She paused. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering…did anything happen to the clubs? Anything unusual?"

Again, there was an almost pregnant pause. "Why do you ask? Is something happening in your school's literature club?"

"No, it's just…it's hard to explain. Please?"

Mom sighed. "Well, when I was in my last year of high school the club's president started getting sick. She suddenly stopped showing up for school before the festival our school held. When she did come back, she wasn't really the same."

"I see. Where is she now?"

Mom's voice cracked a bit. "Dead. She killed herself a year later."

I flinched. "I shouldn't have asked…I'm sorry Mom."

She rubbed my forehead gently. "Is something happening with your literature club?" she asked.

"You could say that…" I said.

"You can talk to me, sweetie. I'll listen."

I couldn't help it. I started crying. Mom stopped cleaning my ears in order to rub my head. The stress of the last nearly four years came pouring out. Mom just let me cry until I couldn't anymore. "Let it all out, dear," Mom said softly.

After a while I stopped. Mom resumed cleaning my ear. "I feel better now," I said. "And thank you. I'll tell you about our literature club, but not now. I'm still trying to sort it out."

"Good. Turn around, time for the other ear."

The two of us remained like that in silence for a while as Mom cleaned my other ear. As she did so, I realized I didn't care whether or not Mom was just a piece of code. Her love for her family was more genuine than anything Karen gave to us. I would protect her no matter what. My eyelids began to droop. Mom's ear cleaning skills were beyond comparing, after all. My eyes closed and I soon drifted off into slumber.

"He looks so cute like that."

"Don't wake him up, Monika."

Those were the first words I heard when I woke next. I found myself looking at two green stars, shining brightly and gorgeous. I blinked and the stars turned into eyes. They blinked. "Good morning," Monika said. "Looks like your mom fell asleep with you."

I slowly sat up and looked over at Mom. She was still fast asleep, hand resting on her lap where it had been on my head just seconds ago. I put a blanket over her. "Let's go, you guys." I hadn't even gotten out of my school clothes the night before, so I just grabbed a breakfast bar from the kitchen, grabbed my bag and left with the two girls. While we were walking, I told them about what my mom told me about her high school literature club.

"That's…terrifying," Akane said after a few seconds.

"It is," Monika said. "Will it happen to me?"

I grabbed her shoulders. "I won't let it happen. As the student council president and as someone who loves you dearly, I won't let it!" I said it with such force that it even surprised me. "I can't let it…" I released her, looking down at the ground.

Akane put a hand on my shoulder. "Neither will I. I care about you two too much."

Monika looked extremely touched. "I'm so happy my boyfriend and my close friend are both here for me."

Just like Monika did last night I blushed when she called me her boyfriend. I pulled both girls into a surprise group hug. I knew Akane wasn't one for hugs much but at the moment I didn't care. We all needed this. To my relief both girls hugged me back. Akane was the first to break the hug. I reluctantly followed. "We should get going," I said.

The school day went by slower than it normally did. The teachers seemed to notice that the two top students in my class were distracted and asked if we were sick. Monika and I shook our heads. When class was over, I went to the student council room, feeling more determined. The four of us focused on more preparations for the festival. The other two girls congratulated me on my confession at the end of our day. I glared at Akane who giggled. "What? They'll keep it discreet, I promise."

"But will you?" I glared at Akane more.

She laughed. "I'm just so happy for you!"

I sighed, but smiled at her. "Thank you, Akane. It means a lot to have your support."

We wrapped up the meeting and then Akane and I practically ran towards the literature club room. We knocked and Monika called us in. The two of us found that Makoto was sitting next to Natsuki near the closet reading a manga, Yuri was reading a familiar looking book and Monika and Sayori were talking about something. Everyone turned when Akane and I walked in. "Welcome back," Monika said, putting her hands behind her back and smiling warmly at the two of us.

"You two aren't planning to crash here forever, are you?" Natsuki called out.

"We finished early again so we wanted to stop by and see our friends," I said. "Besides, I wanted to share my own poem." I held up a sheet of paper. "If that's alright, that is."

Monika acted surprised. In fact, Akane, Monika and I had come up with an experiment the night prior. I would present a 'poem' to one of the three girls, consisting of twenty random words. If they made a comment about the 'poem' being just words I would act embarrassed and hand my real poem to the girl. We only needed to use it on one of the three, because our running hypothesis was that they each saw the random words as an actual poem. Our optimal targets were Natsuki and Yuri. I felt that Sayori would say something nice to be polite. "That would be…really nice actually! The more the merrier. Sound good, everyone?"

When everyone agreed we began to exchange poems. I went up to Natsuki first and handed her the decoy poem. She looked at it, then at me, then back at the decoy. "The hell is this? Poems aren't random words, you know."

I smacked my head. "Damn, I handed you the wrong paper. Here." I took the paper from her hand and handed my real poem. I went around the room, sharing my poem with everyone else. Monika's was a little happier than the one she'd written before, but I still sensed the fear in the words. After the poems were shared, everyone left. All except me, Monika and Akane. I told Monika about the experiment. "It's safe to assume that they see Mako-no, they see PLAYER's poems as more than the twenty words we see. I noticed it seemed to affect Sayori the most."

"If this is a dating sim, should we assume PLAYER is going down the Sayori Route?" Monika asked.

"That's a pretty safe bet," Akane said. "Hey, I'm gonna grab my bag. I'll meet you two out at the gate." She winked at us before she left.

"I'm gonna pack up," Monika said, grabbing her bag.

I turned to look at the corner where Makoto would normally sit. Something about that place felt…dangerous. "One more thing…" I said. I walked up slowly towards the corner again. The sense of terror washed over me again, but I pushed myself forward. I finally took a seat.

The world around me completely changed. Monika froze in place, looking directly at me. She wasn't even real anymore. She was an anime character, but I recognized her clearly. The background looked one dimensional. The pink screen appeared. I began hearing music that sounded like some generic dating sim background music.

**Can-kun? Are you alright?** The name on the pink screen indicated that it was Monika speaking, but I couldn't hear her.

I tried moving my lips but nothing came out. However, my reply appeared over text. **I think I'm seeing the world that PLAYER sees. You're not moving and I can't hear your voices. What am I doing?**

**You're just staring ahead**, Monika said. **Your replies have emotion but your body is rock still**.

**So intention gets through**, I said. **I'm gonna try and move now**.

Instantly I found myself gasping for breath, holding my neck. The world around me became real again and the music vanished, to be replaced by the startled voice of Monika asking me if I was alright. I felt a pair of hands help me to my feet. I described my experience to Monika, ending with "I have to say, you look pretty good as an anime girl." I was trying to make light out of the situation, but Monika saw through me.

"Damn it Damian, don't joke about this!" Monika shouted. She ran up and hugged me tightly. "See? You're trembling!"

She was right. That experience left me trembling. She'd run up so fast I collided with the wall and we both slid down., Monika's face buried in my chest. I looked up at the ceiling, feeling incredibly weakened. "I know…I'm sorry."

"It's my job as you girlfriend to worry about you," Monika whispered, her face muffled by my blazer. Her grip tightened. "Please…"

I nodded. "Then you need to let me worry about you too. Deal?"

Monika nodded. "Deal."

She and I slowly stood. I cleared my throat. "This is gonna sound random, but I would like some ice cream. Why don't the three of us go get some together? It'll be my treat."

Monika looked at me curiously, but then grinned. "That sounds amazing, actually," she said. "I could use some fun. I'm sure Akane would agree."

Akane did agree.

* * *

**I wasn't sure how to end this chapter. It's not my best ending for a chapter, sorry.**

**morbiusgreen**


	10. The Good, Bad and Ugly

That same evening the three of us spent at Monika's house practicing our study of coding. Monika mentioned adding new physical laws to the world like Magic and such. Akane chuckled and said it was an interesting idea, but I cautioned them to hold off on that. "When we get better, we can discuss it further."

One thing we discussed was the adding of information to our Long Term memory. We'd examined our own character files and discovered that we had different types of memory access points. It was difficult to decipher, but Monika was the first to figure it out. "I found a memory about the first time I ate crêpes with Can-kun!"

Akane and I moved to get a look at Monika's screen. There were a bunch of words and letters that didn't make much sense, but I saw the word crêpe and Can-kun in English. "It's even organized by date and time?" I asked, opening my window and looking for the same memory. I eventually found it. "Monika, let's compare." She and Akane got on opposite sides of me and we both looked at the code. For the most part they seemed to be similar. "Wait, I didn't say that did I?" I asked.

"That's the way I remember it," Monika replied.

"Hmmm, I really don't remember it that way," I murmured. "I know in reality people can remember things differently. Guess I shouldn't assume it's any different here."

Monika and I compared more incidents from our childhood together and saw the same difference. Next Akane and I compared memories that we shared and saw some differenced but not as many. "That makes sense," Akane said. "The closer in time, the fresher the memory."

We next looked at the coding for the world itself. It was massive and there was no way we could understand all of it. "No fucking way we're gonna do any editing on this for a long time," I said.

Monika nodded. "Sorry I brought it up."

"Don't be," I said. "To be honest, I really thought about it earlier. For example, we could lower the CO2 content of the atmosphere here. Stop global warming."

Monika nodded. "I had that thought too…but the consequences would be deadly."

"Agreed," Akane said.

"But…" Monika added, "I do like the idea of trying to make the world a better place with these new abilities."

"I'm with you there too," Akane said.

"Once we get a better handle on these abilities," I said, "then we can do something."

Once again, Akane stayed with Monika. As I was brushing my teeth, I got a call from Dad. "Hello?"

"Hey Damian, just thought I'd check in. I hear your school festival's coming up?"

"Heh, yeah it is."

"Is the student council doing anything?"

"Not really no. Same as we did last year. Making sure everything runs smoothly."

"I see." He cleared his throat. "Damian, Mom called me earlier today. Is everything okay? She said ever since Monday you've been acting distracted."

I sighed. I didn't want to tell Dad about this because it would break his heart, but I knew I had to. "Dad…there's something wrong. Not just with me, but with this world. Whoever sent us here either screwed up or screwed us. Hold on, I need to finish brushing my teeth and then we can talk in private." After I rinsed I walked outside. Taking a deep breath, I did my best to explain. When I was done, there was silence on the other end. "D-Dad?"

"I believe you," Dad said somberly. "It makes sense. From what you said about dating sims, it makes sense. I heard one of my coworkers talking about how his son's school's literature club president changed almost overnight last year. But if what you're telling me about Monika, Akane and you is true, it's bigger than you think. I'm going to do some research. I'll email you what I find."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for believing me, Dad. Oh and also, I told Monika and Akane about where we're really from."

"How'd they react?"

"They didn't quite believe me, but we're focusing on our newfound abilities first. I'll keep you posted."

"Good. Um…I probably should have told you already, but Mom knows. About the two of us, I mean. I told her about it years ago. She actually believed me. I should have let you know, but…you were having nightmares at the time."

I sighed. "I almost told Mom about what I'm telling you now last night. I guess now's a good a time as any, eh?"

"It'd be better if you showed her proof of what you're saying."

"I can do that. Thanks Dad."

"I'm going to work faster so I can get home sooner. Say hi to Mom and Hana for me."

"I will. Love you Dad."

"Love you too son. Bye."

"Bye." After I hung up I leaned against the fence surrounding our yard and looked up at the stars. For computer generated images, the starfield looked incredibly realistic. I heard the door open and close behind me. Mom was standing next to me.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Dad, but you knew that, didn't you?" I asked.

She hugged me. "Hana and I were worried about you, you know? And not just you, but Akane and Monika too. You three have been spending a lot of time in your room this week."

"It's not for anything indecent!" I said.

"I know that," Mom said. "You've all looked so serious and scared."

I nodded. "Yeah we have. I'm sorry for making you worry Mom."

"Please…tell me what's wrong."

Once again I explained to Mom what Monika, Akane and I had discovered about the world. She listened silently much like Dad had. When I was done, she nodded. "Do you have proof?"

"Yes. Watch this." Pulling up a command console I created a simple glass of ice water again. She took it and sipped it.

"I guess you and your dad really are reincarnated then," she said. "When he told me, I wasn't too sure but now I believe you. And it explains why the president of the literature club in my school…well…"

I hugged her close. "I won't let that happen to anyone else, especially current literature club presidents."

Mom smiled and hugged me back. "You're such an amazing young man. I'm glad you're my stepson."

"Son, Mom. You're more of a mother to me than my biological mom ever was. I don't even think of you as a stepmom, but my real mom."

Her smile widened and she began to shed happy tears. I didn't need any further proof that the people in this world weren't real. If Mom could react in such a genuine way, there was no way she wasn't real. "Thank you Damian. And don't worry. I will support you with everything I have in this."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear you say that. For the foreseeable future, I have a feeling the three of us will be either coming here or going to Monika's place to figure out how to use the coding systems here. Speaking of…I have a bit of a surprise for you." I opened the window and began typing on the hovering keyboard.

**f=open("cancian_yuuko_pendant;obj", "a+")**

**for i in range(2):**

** ("Appended line \r\n" % (i+1) restore_object)**

**f;close()**

**_UHJvZ3JhbSBydW5uaW5nLiBFbmNvZGVfb2JqZWN0X21hbmlwdWxhdGlvbjogWXV1a29DYW5jaWFuLXBlbmRhbnQuIFJlc2V0IHRvIGZhY3RvcnkgY29uZGl0aW9ucy4_=**

The pendant on Mom's neck began to glow a bit. I knew that pendant was precious to her and it had been cracked a bit. I watched as the damage reset and it became whole again. She opened it to reveal the picture of her and Natsuki's mom, her best friend from school, hugging each other. She looked up at me and in the light of the porch light I saw tears streaming down her face. She hugged me tightly. "This is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten…thank you Damian."

"I know how much she meant to you. I wanted to see you smile again when you thought of her."

She wept gratefully. "I got lucky having a son like you. And Hana really likes having you as her brother."

"I like having her as a sister."

After a while we went back inside and to bed. I had no dreams that night thankfully, and when I was walking to school with the girls the next day I told them about what had happened after they'd left. "So now the two of them know."

"I hope they don't get the abilities we have," Monika said. "There's no need to burden them with that."

"I hope not too, but this only affects people who were literature club presidents," I said.

"So why do I have them now too?" Akane asked.

I'd already thought about that. "I think…you remember when we switched jobs for a month after that one argument that being president was too easy a job? For that month you were president. And it was during our second middle school festival."

"I'd forgotten…" she said. She smiled. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"It would also explain why you don't have nightmares like Monika or I do," I continued. "So here we are, two former presidents and one current one. I'm just glad whatever gods exist put us together."

Monika intertwined her arm with mine and leaned on my shoulder. I saw a couple other students glance our way. Akane leaned in and whispered "The rumor mill's already abuzz about you two."

"I don't care," Monika said.

"You know what…neither do I," I said. "I'm Monika's boyfriend now, and I want to make sure the world knows it."

"I'm Damian's girlfriend, and I want to tell the world too," Monika said, blushing as heavily as I was.

I felt Akane put one hand on my shoulder. She did the same to Monika's other shoulder. Sticking her head between ours, I saw she was grinning like a madwoman, eyes closed. "You two are way too goddamn cute."

"Ah, um, th-thanks," I said, actually stammering for once. It had been way too long since I'd had any kind of relationship. In fact I didn't even remember being in one in either world. I decided to check my forgotten memories in my code later just to confirm.

"I don't think I've ever heard you stumble over your words before," Akane said, sounding surprised. "I hope I can make a guy stumble over their words like that someday."

"You will," Monika reassured her. "You're beautiful and talented. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

I kept my mouth shut, but I agreed with Monika. She was one of the more attractive girls in the school and many of her fanclub had followed her to the school. I knew they were jealous of me and the other members of the student council and literature club, but they were wise enough now to know not to try anything stupid. "So, what do we do today?" I asked as we approached the gates. I ignored the astonished stares I got from the other students.

"Act normal," Akane said. "You and I should really keep a closer eye on the literature club, though."

"Agreed."

* * *

The day went by faster than it did the days before. The teachers seemed relieved that Monika and I appeared to be back to normal. When Akane and I got to the student council room we gave it our all, even more than our all actually. It felt like we gave 110%. The other two girls were clearly impressed and seemed to catch our energy. They called it "infectious" at the end of the day.

Akane and I sprinted to the literature club and we arrived just in time to see the others exchanging poems. Unfortunately, neither Akane or I brought any, but we gladly read everyone else's. As Akane and I read Sayori's, Yuri's and Natsuki's I felt something akin to dread wash over me. Sayori's Bottles poem struck me in a way I didn't like. I could almost sense the sadness behind it. I wouldn't have gotten Yuri's poem if I didn't already know about her self-harm tendancies. I guessed that Natsuki's poem was about Yuri. Of course, PLAYER's poems were just random words, but I forced myself to compliment it, saying that Sayori would love it.

After I read Monika's poem, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of utter dread. I stepped outside, telling everyone that I needed to go to the bathroom. Finding an empty classroom with only a desk and two chairs in the center of the room, I walked over and sat in one of the chairs and looked at the desk, an unusual sadness creeping over me. All the stress built up over the past few days finally boiled over and I wept. I tried to keep it in, but I was soon audibly crying. I hated hearing myself cry, so I hardly ever did but the urge to cry overwhelmed me and I sobbed. A million thoughts rushed through my head. Holding my head, the room around me began to glitch. My sobbing turned to screams of sorrow, despair and fear. "SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP ME!"

The glitches only got worse and the code began to appear again. I felt like I was floating in midair. The screaming void appeared outside the window and I could hear the muffled screams of many different people. I began hearing the music I'd heard in my dreams again, once more hearing the "Doki Doki" some random girl said. The glitches seemed to suddenly center around one edge of the room. They suddenly stopped, revealing a grand piano. Despite my tears, I smiled. Walking up I sat down at the piano and touched the keys. It looked brand new. Piano had been something that had always made me feel better in the past, so I began to pluck out the tune I'd been hearing on and off.

I soon got lost in the song, each new chord allowing me to relax. As I played the piano, the screams died down and the music I was hearing began to go away. The sun came back and I continued to play. As I continued to compose, I created a pen and a piece of paper, writing down the notes. I was so engrossed I didn't hear the door slid open. I didn't see the two students gathering closer to me, watching me as I not only played, but wept. I only noticed when someone wrapped their arms around me. I stopped and leaned against Monika, letting the tears stream down my face in newly formed waterfalls. Akane stood close by. Monika stroked my hair gently. "I'll help you," she whispered. "There's no need to be alone like this anymore."

Akane walked up and put a hand on my shoulder, smiling down at me. "You've got the two of us! And your parents too. They'll support you through this."

"We need you too," Monika said, holding me tightly, her more than ample breasts pressing into my back. "We're gonna get through this, I promise."

I nodded somberly, then cracked a smile. I stood and turned towards them. "I'm glad. Glad I have two wonderful women who I can help and support. I'm sorry about earlier, I just got so overwhelmed with the hidden messages behind the poems that I needed a breather." I explained what happened.

"Empty classroom? What do you mean?" Monika asked, pointing behind her. I looked and to my surprise the classroom now had a full complement of desks and chairs facing towards the chalkboard.

"The hell…? There was only one desk here, I'm positive." I held my head. "What happened?"

"Damian, maybe we should take the evening off?" Akane asked. "Have some fun, just the three of us."

"No!" I said so vehemently that both girls backed away, startled. I cleared my throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so forceful. I didn't mean we shouldn't take the evening off. I mean that we shouldn't just go by ourselves. The others…I want to go with them too. The other girls are suffering in their own ways. They need a chance to be happy."

"I understand," Monika said, smiling sweetly at me. "Do you have anything in mind?"

I nodded. "I do. Come on."

When we returned to the clubroom the others greeted me warmly before seeing my tear stained face. "D-Damian? Is everything alright?" Yuri asked.

"Ah, uh yeah. Sorry, it's been a stressful week. I had to be alone for a while."

"Don't make everyone else here worry, you dummy," Natsuki said, hands on her hips.

"Do you have rainclouds over your sunny day?" Sayori asked, sounding concerned.

I'd never heard that analogy before, but I chuckled. "That's a very apt metaphor. Yeah, I did have some rainclouds, but I'm feeling a bit better. However, you know what would make me feel even better?"

"What?" Makoto-no, PLAYER-asked.

I walked to the front and clapped. "Okay, everyone. As Student Council President, I am hereby ordering everyone here to follow me. We're gonna spend the afternoon having fun as a group."

I was met with stunned silence. Monika and Akane looked on approvingly while the others looked at me confused. "F-Fun?" Yuri asked after a few seconds. "Where?"

"Oh don't worry, we're all going to enjoy ourselves today!" I beamed at everyone. "Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag," I sang as I grabbed my bag. "Come on!"

Everyone scrambled to grab their bags and followed me. Monika now made absolutely no effort to hide our relationship, standing close to me. PLAYER joined us then and asked how long we'd been seeing each other.

"I…I confessed to him on Monday," Monika said, blushing.

"And I confessed right back," I said.

Akane pulled out her phone. "And I witnessed the whole thing," she said, showing everyone the first moments of the two of us as a couple. Sayori went "Awww," Yuri commented on how good a couple we looked, Natsuki just made a disgusted face, and PLAYER didn't say much, only smiled at the two of us.

After we got our shoes on I led them to our town's biggest arcade center. I took out the allowance I'd been given by my parents and gave everyone some coins. "Go nuts."

Sayori and PLAYER ran off immediately, Natsuki looked a bit hesitant but I smiled encouragingly at her. Yuri was the most hesitant. "I-I've never been to a gaming arcade before," she said nervously.

"Neither have I," Akane said, "so don't feel bad, Yuri."

"Damian and I used to come here a lot when we were kids," Monika said. "You know, I bet I can still kick your ass in Fast and Furious!"

"Oh bring it on!" I grinned.

"Why don't the two of us watch?" Akane said to Yuri as they followed the two of us. Yuri and Akane watched as Monika and I raced. I was surprised my character data was still here after entering my code. Monika's was as well. We raced three times. I won one, Monika won one and then in a bizarre twist we both tied for another. Afterwards, Yuri and Akane raced. Yuri looked completely out of place and nervous from all the loud noises.

"I'm gonna be right back," I whispered to Monika. She looked worriedly at me, but I gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek and ran to the bathroom. I opened the console and created some noise cancelling headphones. While I was in there, I decided to also try a little experiment. I opened my character file and searched for a few keywords like Luck, Hand-Eye Coordination and such. I found a Hand-Eye Coordination factor and saw it was set to around sixty-two. I decided to edit it to around ninety-five. When I hit Enter on the keyboard, I suddenly felt a change, almost as if a strange chill had temporarily run through my body.

I went back to where Yuri was and handed her the headphones. "I know you don't like loud places, and I remembered I had these with me. Take them."

Yuri looked up at me and blushed. "Thank you Damian." She took them and put them on.

"While you two are having fun, I'm gonna try out the claw machines." I went straight for one of the machines. It had a figurine of one of the characters from Parfait Girls in it. I saw that Natsuki was trying the one next to me. It had the same figure. I cracked my knuckles and put some money in the machine. With a new-found confidence, I moved the crane to an angle I wouldn't have considered.

Natsuki was watching me intensely now. "You won't get it like that."

"Just watch." To my surprise and relief, the box tumbled into the prize area. I pulled it out and admired it before handing it to Natsuki. "Here. A present for you."

Her eyes widened and she pushed it back. "N-No, I can't take it. If I did, my dad-" Her eyes widened, almost as if she'd said too much.

Something was very wrong, but I decided not to press it. "Tell you what, you can keep it with your manga. I won't tell anyone, alright?"

She looked at me with a small smile. "You-You'd do that for me?"

"You're my friend, Natsuki. I like seeing you smile."

She looked away, clearly embarrassed. "Dummy…don't you have a girlfriend?"

"What's wrong with my boyfriend being nice to other girls?" Monika said as she appeared beside me. "Just as long as he loves me. Just Monika, right?" She flicked my nose playfully.

The phrase she used…just Monika…it gave me unusual chills. "And I do love you, Monika."

Natsuki suddenly got a call. I saw her face pale as she saw who it was from. "Excuse me…" she answered. "H-Hey Dad…" she sounded terrified. I heard someone shouting at her. "I-I'm out with friends…Yes…alright Dad, I'll be home soon. Bye." She hung up and turned towards us. "I have to go…I'm sorry." Reaching into her pocket she handed me the rest of the money I'd given her. "Here."

I shook my head and pushed them back. "No, that money's yours now." I was beginning to understand why Natsuki was smaller than most. It could have to do with not being fed enough or family troubles at home. "I insist."

I saw her breath catch in her throat. "Th-Thank you…" She turned and ran out.

"I didn't like the sound of that man on the phone," I said through clenched teeth the moment Monika and I were alone. I was testing out my newly improved coordination by winning out of the claw machines.

"Me neither," she said. She was watching me with curiosity. "Were you always this good at claw games?"

I looked a bit sheepishly at her. "Ahaha, well, I have a confession to make…" I told her about what I'd done.

"I thought we agreed not to mess with characters?" she asked, sounding a bit betrayed.

"I'm sorry, I just had to test it out. But don't worry, I did it on myself. I'll reset it later, if it makes you feel any better."

"Please do…" she sounded worried.

"I'll do it now." I ran to the bathroom and set the coordination back down to what it had been before returning. I tried once on another machine but failed. "Back to normal."

"Don't do that again," Akane said, walking up. "Before you ask, Monika told me." She had a disappointed look on her face.

"I promise I won't mess with anyone again, even myself," I said.

Just then PLAYER and Sayori emerged from a photo booth. Sayori was blushing as was PLAYER. I just hoped this game ended soon. "That was fun," PLAYER said with a smile as he grabbed the pictures.

"Yes, it was," Sayori said, beaming. Her smile seemed more fake now. Her poem came back to me now. I wondered if there was more truth to it than I originally thought. I wanted to help these girls too. They had their own issues they were dealing with. I needed to help them. I had to…if I didn't, I had the sneaking suspicion something horrific was going to happen…

* * *

**Wonder what's gonna happen. Enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	11. Discoveries

"You think Natsuki's dad is abusing her in some way?" Mom looked astonished at my statement. I was sitting at the table with Mom, Akane and Monika.

"I don't want to say abuse, maybe neglect," I said. "There were so many little signs that I missed. She asked me to keep her manga in the student council room, she's small for her age (although that could be genetics), and she can get tired easily. And earlier today when we went to the game arcade…" I told her what Monika and I witnessed.

Mom looked down, hands clasped. In the silence I heard Hana upstairs practicing for her school festival. "I've known Hiro for years…he was always a very gentle man. It's why Sayako fell for him." She looked at me. "You can find out, can't you? With your abilities, right?"

"We could," I said, "but…well…"

"We don't want to use that power to snoop on other people's private lives," Monika said, obviously sensing my discomfort.

"But…it'd be so much easier," Mom said.

"Mom, I don't want to be that kind of person. I already messed with myself earlier and received an earful from these two. I'm not doing that again."

Akane sighed. "If any of us started tweaking with people, we'd just see them as code. Not people."

Mom looked down again. "I guess…but…the fact that Hiro'd be capable of neglect? It's hard to believe."

"I'll confront Natsuki about it tomorrow," I said. "If she's having troubles, I want to be there for her. I want to help them all. Mom…they're all hurting in some way."

Mom looked at me smiling. "You're so kind. Monika, you're a lucky woman. He's just as kind and selfless as his father."

Monika and I looked at Mom in shock. "Y-You knew?" I asked.

"I've known since you were a kid," Mom said. "You've never played with anyone so much as you did with Monika. And I saw you guys walking up. That and Akane-chan texted me a picture of you guys."

Monika and I looked at as Akane who was looking away innocently as she sipped her tea. She looked at us. "What? Your mom and I have each other's number."

"I'll punish you later," I said with a teasing frown.

"Save that for you girlfriend," Akane whispered, causing me to blush intensely.

"Shut it," I warned, but I couldn't stay mad at my second-best friend and once rival. "Let's get back to why I asked to speak to you, Mom. It's not just Natsuki I'm worried about. Sayori's acting strange too and Yuri…well, she has some issues I don't feel discussing right now. I'm not even sure how to approach this right." I clasped my hands and leaned on them, feelings of self-doubt and fear creeping up within me again. "I've technically lived over thirty years, nineteen in one world and twelve here. I should have the answer…but…" my voice broke as I held back tears, "I d-don't know what t-to do."

Mom smiled. "Come here." She walked over, pulled me up and hugged me. Mom's embraces had always helped me calm down whenever I was stressed. Not that Monika's didn't either, but she was my mother. "You're a very capable and intelligent young man. The problem is you can't see that. You've always pushed yourself forward and when you reach one hurdle you strive for the next. I don't know what you were like in your old world, but you've become such an incredible influence on not only Hana, but Dad as well. And me. Seeing you work so hard made me want to become better too. You're approaching the problem with the other girls like a hurdle, and I don't think that's the right way to look at it."

My eyes widened. Mom was right, I was thinking about this all wrong. Despite my promise not to think about the others as anything other than human, I saw their problems as an obstacle to clear._ Like some goddamn game!_ I felt two more people hugging me as well. Mom wrapped her arms around all three of us. "They're your friends. Approach it from that angle."

She held us for a long while before releasing us. "Focus your obstacle clearing on your new powers. Think about that, but leave the friends part to your hearts." She touched her chest. In that moment, Mom was my all-time hero. She said what I needed to hear. "If you two want to stay here tonight, you can," Mom said, talking now to Monika and Akane.

"Thank you, Cancian-san," Monika said thankfully.

"Come on you guys, let's go up to Damian's room." Akane pulled me and Monika up. Mom waved at us with a pleasant smile on her face.

"So…that just happened," I said, scratching the back of my neck nervously. I sat on my bed. "Mom's right though. They're our friends, we need to treat them as such. Now let's learn more about our powers."

Once again, the three of us kept on learning the intricacies of Python coding. As we were winding down, a thought occurred to me. "Why is it Python code? I mean, there has to be a reason why the coding for such a complicated world is in such a simple form as Python, right?"

"I was wondering the same thing earlier," Monika said.

"Me too, any theories?" Akane asked.

I rubbed my forehead. "No, but there has to be a reason our Python commands work in a world as complex as reality. Python's way too simple to make a full blown simulation like this. And that wasn't all. I saw some other type of code yesterday when I was fixing Mom's pendant. Completely different than Python. Just numbers and letters, upper and lower case and seemingly random."

"Base64," Monika said. "I tried fixing a broken glass at home yesterday after Akane went to sleep and I saw the same code."

"Python and Base64…so why those two?" Akane asked.

"There has to be a more complex code underneath it all," I said. "Aaaah, this is so frustrating. Well anyway, let's not think too much about it right now. What we have is working perfectly."

Silence fell again. Finally I had another idea. "Hey, guys…?"

"Hmm?" The girls said simultaneously. They looked like they were hanging on every word I was about to say.

"Should…we try to access the real world internet?"

"But how?" Akane asked. "And why?"

"I want to watch a Let's Play of this game," I explained. "If we could see what's scripted to happen, maybe we can change it."

"Change it? But isn't this a dating sim?" Akane looked at me confused.

I paused. I wasn't quite sure how to explain the ever-growing nervousness I was feeling. It was different from all the other fears I was feeling. Fortunately, Monika spoke up. "I think I understand what you're worried about, love. Let's find out if we can access PLAYER's computer."

For the next couple of hours, we poured over the Python code book I'd downloaded, looking for a way to access the computer. We were just about to give up when Akane had an epiphany of her own. One moment she was carefully typing on her floating keyboard, the next her eyes widened and she began furiously typing. "Got it!"

A desktop image appeared in front of her. Monika and I moved to her side. PLAYER was currently watching some YouTube video. "What's the Numa Numa song?" Akane asked.

"It's called Dragostea Din Tei by a band called O-Zone," I explained. "It became a meme when someone in the early days of YouTube danced to it. He got millions of views. I'll show you later because the same video exists here." I pointed at the time on the desktop. "Whoever this guy is, they're up pretty late."

"Hang on, I'm gonna try something," Monika said. "Akane, file share the code you input with me and Can-kun."

I felt what I could only describe as a mental prick as the three of us opened up a rather simple file sharing software we'd created to keep in touch with each other as well as share any discoveries we'd come up with. I saw the rather inspired coding that Akane had written. "I'd have never thought of that," I admitted. "Good work, Akane." She flashed me and Monika a brilliant smile. "Okay, so we have access to their screen, but what else? Can we control their computer?"

"I think so," Akane said. She reached for her virtual mouse.

"Wait stop!" I said. She looked at me shocked at my sudden outburst. "Sorry, let's wait for a bit. I don't want to take control and freak them out. They may do something drastic." I frowned. "Let's try something else. Can we get sound?"

The three of us thought before something occurred to me. I pulled up my command console and implemented some more codes. Two floating speakers appeared and the sounds of the older memeified song began blasting through the speakers. I turned down the volume. "There we go."

"It's an interesting tune," Monika said.

"I'll show you the video later. For now though, I wonder…Do you think their computer has a webcam?"

It was Monika's turn to be inspired. "I'm on it." Her fingers almost danced across the keyboard and a second window popped up. "Well, that's…different."

We saw a darkened room on the new screen. A small bed lay in the upper left corner of the screen with blankest strewn about. On the walls were images of anime girls. Sitting in front of the computer was a rather cute foreign looking girl with jet black hair and brown eyes. She was so intently focused on the screen she didn't seem to notice her webcam had turned on.

"Take a screenshot and turn it off," I said. Monika did so.

"Hey guys, something's happening," Akane said, pointing at the desktop image. PLAYER had closed or minimized her web browser and was going to a Steam icon on the desktop. She opened it and scrolled until she came to a game with a cutesy looking title. "What the hell is Doki Doki Literature Club?"

I suddenly remembered the words from the song I'd been hearing in my dream. "Doki doki…? Guys, that's us. Whatever game we're a part of, it's called Doki Doki Literature Club."

"Natsuki would have a cow about that cutesy name," Monika said. That made everyone laugh.

"So what happens when she opens it?" Akane asked. "To us I mean?"

"Let's find out," I said.

The three of us watched anxiously and I felt both girls gently hold my sleeves. As the game opened, I heard it again. That same cute sounding song. A purple box appeared with the logo DAN SALVATO on the bottom. I was surprised by the disclaimer, however. "What do they mean, 'Not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed?!'" Akane sounded incredulous. "It's just a dating sim!"

As the main screen came up I saw, to my shock, animated versions of all four girls in the literature club striking cute poses, only their hair colors were very exaggerated. I couldn't help myself. "You look pretty attractive as an anime girl, sweetie," I said.

I was happy to see her smiling a bit. The cursor went to the Load Game option where I saw six rectangular windows, each with different scenes displayed. The cursor went to the last screen and clicked. The window went black, but then nothing else happened. "Um…what?" Akane said, looking extremely confused.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I said.

"Did her computer freeze?" Monika asked.

"Open the webcam again," I said.

The second screen turned on, only it was only an image of the girl again, static, not moving. "What the hell?!" Akane nearly shouted. She turned to me. "Does time stop in reality a lot?"

"Never," I said. "I'm so lost."

"Do we still have access to the real-world internet?" Akane asked.

Monika began typing. "Yes we do…" she said in shock.

"Alright, let's do this then," I said, pulling up a new window. "At least she's got good taste in web browser," I said as I opened Google Chrome and typed Doki Doki Literature Club. The autofill function added in some search results, including Wikia pages for Sayori, Yuri, Monika and Natsuki, but what really caught my attention was a page called Act 1. I went straight for that one.

The first paragraph of the article caught us off guard. Turning to Monika I saw she was even more in shock than I was. "I…alter the girls…?" Monika said in utter disbelief. She looked at me, now awash with fear. "Why…?"

"Let's…just keep reading," I said. The room remained silent as we read through what could only be described as one of the most fucked up descriptions of a game any of us had ever read, and I'd played Five Nights At Freddy's. I felt both girls grip on me tighten. By the end, Monika was holding back tears and Akane just looked shell-shocked. "Okay…we need to see Act 2," I said, not wanting to at all, but knowing it was necessary.

For the next half hour, the three of us read the articles on Acts 2-4. I'm pretty sure I was slack-jawed the entire time. At one point where we reached the options at the end of Act 3, Monika rushed out of the room, hands over her mouth. I heard her retching in the bathroom nearby. Akane went to check on her. Both came back a few minutes later, Monika a bit wobbly while Akane supported her. Finally, we reached the end of reading the Acts. I minimized the window and we all just sat there for a while, trying to process what we'd just read. I inhaled once, then looked up at the ceiling. "Dan Salvato…you sick son of a bitch!" I shouted, startling everyone. I stood angrily and punched the wall in frustration.

"Damian! Stop!" Monika's arms hugged me from behind once again, pulling me away.

"Monika…I'm sorry." I lowered my fist and made an effort to unclench it.

"I understand how he feels," Akane said, walking over to the two of us. "but look at us now. Monika, you've not touched the character profiles at all, and there's no mention of me or Damian in this Wikia."

"We…should really read more about this game," Monika said, pulling me back. She sat me down then plopped herself into my lap. We read a few other articles, such as Monika's Talk, the character pages and so on until we'd exhausted every possible option. When I looked at the clock I saw it was extremely late. Akane stood. "I…um…I can tell the two of you need some alone time. I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

I handed her a warm blanket. "Sleep well."

And just like that, Monika and I were alone, sitting on my bed. She had a look of utter shame on her face, guilt as well. I could tell she had something she wanted to say, but I waited patiently for her to form her thoughts. Finally her lips parted. "I…I'm a monster…"

"Monika…you're not a monster," I said firmly.

"But…I killed them."

"You just saw them earlier today," I said. "Did they look dead to you?" I reached over to comfort her.

"You saw what those pages said I did!" She almost screamed. She flinched away from my touch. It hurt to see her retreat from me, but I let her rant. "I did all those horrible things to the other girls…my friends."

"No you haven't."

"But I'm capable of it!" She was starting to hyperventilate. "Damian…that's the type of person you girlfriend is. Possessive, insane…"

I turned her towards me forcefully. "Monika, I want you to look at me and answer each question I ask you truthfully. Understood?" Startled by my forcefulness, she nodded. "First off, do you love me?"

"Yes, very much."

"Do you love Sayori?"

"I do."

"Do you love Natsuki?"

"Yes."

"Do you love Yuri?"

"Yes, I do. I love all my friends…"

"Do you love Makoto?"

"Yes I do…what are you getting at?"

I sighed. "The you from that messed up game wouldn't have replied that way. Monika, you are not the Monika from this Doki Doki game. You are so much more than that. You're a top notch leader, a great student, and a wonderful human being who cares so much about her friends. And that's the woman I fell so hard for." She looked up at me, more tears welling up in her eyes. I move closer, pulling her into a hug. She wasn't returning it, in fact she wasn't moving at all. "Monika Takanashi, I'm the last one qualified to say this," I continued, "but don't compare yourself to someone else. Even if that someone else is another version of yourself."

"But…I'm still a monster even now…how can you love a monster?"

I wasn't getting anywhere with words. I went through every possible scenario in my mind when suddenly Mom's words from before echoed in my mind. "_You're approaching the problem with the other girls like a hurdle, and I don't think that's the right way to look at it_." Mom wasn't just talking about Yuri, Natsuki and Sayori. She was also talking about Monika too. I knew I needed to stop thinking and act. I broke the hug a bit, letting my feelings for Monika boil over like a geyser. I gazed at my girlfriend, a heavenly green-eyed angel. Lifting her so she was facing me, I leaned in and before she could react gave her a kiss. My first kiss. I moved away, smiling tenderly at her. She touched her lips in surprise. I kept my mouth shut, letting my actions speak for me. I let my emotions show. I was over the moon with happiness that my first kiss was with the woman I loved.

"Damian…" she reached down and took my hand. I held it, still letting my actions do the talking. I moved closer again and this time she began to reciprocate. Our lips touched once more. It wasn't anything to write home about, just two inexperienced people giving each other a shallow lip kiss, but if I could have lived in one moment throughout my life, it would be that one moment. Our hands intertwined and our grip tightened. When we broke the kiss and I opened my eyes, I saw that Monika was just opening hers. The tears were still there but they'd stopped. "I'm so happy…that I fell for you."

"I'm happy I fell for you too," I finally replied. Both our faces were red and we gazed into each other's eyes.

Monika looked as happy as I felt as she fell into my arms. "I'm sorry for being such a crybaby," she said.

"Don't apologize," I replied. "Just promise me you won't call yourself a monster anymore, because you're not." I rubbed her back tenderly.

"I won't, I swear."

"Good." I lay back on the bed, Monika still in my arms. The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable at all, but an extreme comfort. I gently pulled the covers over us and turned off the light.

* * *

**That got more emotional than I planned, but what can you do? Enjoy!**

**morbiusgreen**


	12. Comforting A Friend

"Wake up! Wake up!"

I felt someone shaking me as I woke up. Looking up I saw Akane looking at me with a serious expression. "Akane…?"

"Wake up you two!" Akane said.

Looking over I saw that at some point during the night Monika and I had moved closer, embracing each other tightly. I tried to untangle myself but in her sleepy state Monika wouldn't let go. "What's going on," I asked.

"That girl's moving!" She pulled up the webcam image and put it alongside the image of the desktop. I watched as the Sayori sprite appeared, but it seemed slow. Their conversation appeared to be about school and the club. Looking at the webcam, I noticed that the girl was moving slowly as well. Suddenly the game screen wiped. Everything stopped on both screens.

"Again?!" I sighed and lay back down. "What is going on?"

"Hmmm?" Monika stirred beside me. She looked up at me and smiled, but when she saw my expression her smile vanished. "What's wrong?" After Akane and I explained what just happened, she frowned. "I'm lost too. Damian, you're the only one here who's played an actual visual novel/dating simulator. You'd be closer to the answer than either of us."

I nodded. "You know, it's probably right in front of my face and I'm not seeing it. If only we had more time-" I stopped as a realization set in. "TIMESKIPS!" My sudden exclamation startled the other two. Before they could ask, I explained. "In lots of games there are timeskips! But we're not experiencing that right now because we're experiencing the world as an actual world."

"So why could we see her screen when she wasn't playing the game?" Monika asked.

"Don't know," I admitted. "But she's playing the game right now and just saw something happen between her avatar and Sayori. Something that, presumably, just happened here."

"It's the only theory we have right now," Akane said. "What do you think the next scene's going to be?"

"The next major scene's gonna be in the clubroom," I said. "Man, I wish we could speak to this player."

"Maybe we should try," Monika said. "I mean, I did try in the game's second act, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Wasn't today the day the Monika's Writing Tip of the Day where you begin to break the fourth wall? No, that was yesterday. No, today's the day that Sayori leaves the club early…"

"We still need to get PLAYER's attention, but not for the original reasons," Akane said.

"The only way we can do that is if we talk to the avatar directly," I said. "but that's not going to be easy. We need to get the avatar alone somehow. It's either that…or wait until she closes the game and see if we can talk to her directly through her computer."

"It's strange though," Monika said. "We can access her computer when she's playing, but it's like time stops for her."

"Hey, I'm just glad it worked somehow," Akane said.

"But it shouldn't have…" I said. "Aaah, my head hurts just thinking about it. Let's just get ready for school. Maybe some normalcy would help clear our heads."

Throughout the day I threw myself headlong into my studies. I put everything else out of my mind for the day, giving my mind a break. Monika seemed to be doing the same. After classes, Monika and I went to our usual clubrooms. I was surprised by how smoothly preparations for the festival were going because the student council got out early again. Akane and I walked to the clubroom. The first thing we noticed was that Sayori seemed a bit sluggish. "What happened?" Akane asked Monika. "I thought her depression was only exacerbated by someone messing with her code, so what gives?"

Monika shook her head. "I don't know. I've been trying to comfort her as best I can, but she's looking so down. I'm scared…"

"I know," I said. "Me too. Let me talk to her." I walked over and sat next to Sayori. "Hey Sayori, how's everything going?"

She looked at me and gave me her now obviously fake smile. "Great!" she said as enthusiastically as she could. "I'm just a bit tired. Didn't sleep well last night for some reason."

"I see. Sorry about that." I saw her looking out the window again, but I continued. "Depression is a bitch, isn't it?"

She turned sharply towards me, eyes wide. "Wh…what?"

I wouldn't be subtle. There was no time left. Besides, it felt right. I was going through with following my heart. "Sayori, I'm so sorry. I've been a terrible friend." I looked away, feeling the shame of not even noticing her depression over the years.

"N-Not true!" she said, giving me her winning cute smile again. "You're a good friend! Great friend even!"

"Sayori, let me talk for a bit please…" I said. That shut her up and she looked at me intently. "Sayori, you're an important person to me. Everyone in this room is so important to me. I don't want to lose any of you. I only just realized you've been suffering, and I want to help."

She looked away, obviously holding in tears. "C-Can we go outside to talk?"

"Of course."

The moment we were outside the classroom she began walking down the hallway. I fell into step with her. "It's been like this my whole life, or as far as I can remember anyway," she said. "You know how I'm late to school a lot? I don't have the motivation to get out of bed most days. I didn't even want to come to school today."

I nodded. "I see…"

"This week…it's worse."

I frowned. "Worse how?"

"It's…hard to describe. Imagine a normal cloudy day. That's how it is normally, but this week's been like a thunderstorm." She stopped and looked out a window at the courtyard. Students were still heading home at this time, but not many.

"Sayori…" I put a hand on her shoulder. "Is it because Makoto joined the club?"

She stiffened. "He…it's so hard to talk about this, can we just forget it?" She smiled at me sadly through her not yet shed tears.

"No, you need to talk about this," I said. "Sayori, I'm so worried about you. Monika and Akane are too. We love you so much and want to see you be actually happy."

Sayori shook her head. "No…I've been selfish, I don't deserve happiness."

"Please don't say that," I said. "Of course you do. We all deserve happiness. You're just not able to see that right now."

She pushed my hand, which I still had on her shoulder, off hard. "Then let me make everyone else happy! I want that!"

"I want to make everyone happy too!" I shouted, startling her. I cleared my throat. "I want to make everyone happy, and that includes you. You're one of my dearest friends, Sayori. I don't want to see you so depressed. And it's not just me." I pointed at a corner where I knew Monika was hiding. "Your club president over there who thinks she so sneaky wants that too."

Monika came out sheepishly but she walked up to Sayori. Without preamble she wrapped her arms around the vice president. "Sayori, you've made the club a fun and enjoyable place more than I could ever make it by myself. Let me return the favor."

Sayori wasn't returning the hug, tears streaming down her face. "Please stop caring…it hurts."

"We can't just stop how we feel," I said, putting one arm on Monika's shoulder and another on Sayori's. "We love you so much that we hurt when you hurt."

The floodgates broke and Sayori sobbed in Monika's arms, drenching her blazer. I held both girls close. I saw Monika's eyes watering as well. I shed a tear or two myself in those few minutes. Finally Sayori broke the hug and gave us a small smile. "I haven't cried that hard in a long time."

"Freeing, isn't it?" I asked. "I've had those kinds of crys."

"But we're serious, Sayori," Monika said. "We're all here if you need anything."

"I-I don't des-deserve friends like yoWAH!" She wept anew. Monika rushed up and hugged her again, both collapsing to their knees. I stood nearby, smiling. Eventually Sayori's second crying fit was done and she stood. "Do I look like I'm a mess?" she asked sheepishly.

"Come on, Sayori, I'll take you to get washed up," Monika said. She looked back at me and winked. "We'll be back."

I walked back to the clubroom only to see PLAYER leaving. Seeing me he ran up. "Hey, where's Sayori?"

"She and Monika went to wash up," I said. "They'll be back soon." I cleared my throat. "Can I talk to you a bit?"

"Huh? Uh sure," PLAYER said.

I led him away away from the clubroom towards a corner of the hallway. "Listen Makoto, are you gonna confess to Sayori sometime soon?" I hated putting on this act of friendliness. My best male friend Makoto was being controlled by someone from reality.

"Wh-where did that come from?" he asked.

"We did promise we'd encourage each other in our romantic endeavors that day, remember?" I asked, knowing that this was nowhere in the game run-through.

PLAYER's face fell. "Well, yeah I know, but I'm still nervous."

I smiled. "Listen, the worst that can happen is that she says 'You'll always be my dearest friend' or something like that. If she does, yes, it'll hurt, but it's not the end of the world. You'll have plenty of support from me, from Monika, and from everyone else."

PLAYER smiled at me. "Thanks, you're the greatest guy friend ever."

"Don't I know it," I said. "Now come on, let's go back inside and wait for the others."

"Is everything okay?" Akane asked when PLAYER and I walked back into the clubroom.

I pulled her aside. "Sayori just told me and Monika about her depression. Monika's taking her to wash her face. Poor girl cried pretty hard. But I don't think that she'll be leaving early today."

Akane nodded. She looked both sad and relieved. "I see."

"Don't worry," I said, "we can save them all."

She nodded. Monika and Sayori walked back in at that moment. Akane walked over to talk to them. PLAYER joined the conversation and the four headed outside. I looked around the room. I saw Yuri buried in her book but Natsuki was looking at me from behind her manga. Curious I walked over. "Where'd you go?" Natsuki.

"That's a secret," I said, but I made sure I said it in such a way to make Natsuki know it was serious.

She frowned. "Fine, don't tell me!"

"Look," I said, sitting next to her where she leaned against the wall, "I'm really sorry. I don't mean to come off as mean, but something serious happened and I can't tell you. I'd have to let Sayori do that since it involves her a lot." I looked at her apologetically.

She sighed. "O-Okay…I trust you Damian."

"Thanks Natsuki, that means a lot." I looked at her manga. "So, on another topic, but I've been meaning to ask, what got you interested in manga in the first place?"

She smiled. "Believe it or not, I think it was when I went to your apartment and you showed me _Parfait Girls_. It was the first manga I ever read and it became my favorite."

I chuckled. "I'm glad that something good came from that day…" I drifted off, that old feeling of guilt coming back.

She punched my arm. "We were kids," she reminded me, "don't tell anyone I'm about to say this, but stop beating yourself up about it. Your hilarious apology was more than enough."

"Ugh, could you stop mentioning that?" I asked, face red but I let Natsuki know I was teasing her with a small smile.

I felt a second presence opposite me. Monika was seated next to me on my left. "What were you two talking about?" she asked.

"Our first meeting," I said.

"And how hilarious he can be when he's overacting!" Natsuki giggled.

"Natsuki!" I broke out laughing as did Natsuki. I could almost feel Monika's penetrating stare.

"Please don't leave me out," she whined, pouting.

"I did tell you about my second meeting with Natsuki, didn't I?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Wow, I thought I had. Natsuki, you mind?" I asked.

"Oh no, you're telling this," Natsuki grinned evilly.

"Ugh, fine!" I reminded Monika about my first meeting which she remembered well, then told her about our second meeting last year. Soon Natsuki and Monika were both in tears laughing.

"You're gonna have to show me what you did!" Monika laughed.

"Hell no, to the no no no!" I sang, which only caused the girls to laugh even harder. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Yuri looking at the three of us, sneaking glances as she read. I looked over at her and motioned her over. "Come on, Yuri. Join us. The girls were just mercilessly teasing me."

She looked nervously at the others, but Monika just beckoned her over. "Here, let me do something." Monika moved to sit in front of me, looking back at me with a mischievous look. "Don't you dare try anything, alright?"

"Me? Oh my dear Monika, I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied, putting on my best innocent act.

"Ugh, get a room you two," Natsuki said, sounding disgusted.

Yuri, who had joined us in sitting beside me where Monika had been, simply smiled a bit. "C-come on Natsuki, I think it's sweet. I'm actually a bit envious…"

I reached over and pulled Natsuki and Yuri closer quicker than they could react and began to tickle them. Yuri's eyes widened in shock before she began to squirm. Natsuki's reaction was to try and untangle herself from my grip. Monika was just watching this with an amused expression.

"Ahaha! Stop!" Yuri said through a bit of giggling.

"You'll be singing soprano soon if you don't stop!" Natsuki said angrily. I continued before I abruptly stopped. "You'd better not try that…again…" Natsuki's voice faded as she noticed my very somber expression. Monika and Yuri looked at me, both looking very concerned. "Hey, um, you know I wasn't really gonna make you sing soprano, right?"

I looked down at the ground. Yuri was the first to speak. "D-Damian?"

"What's wrong?" Monika asked, looking very concerned.

"I…I don't want this to end," I said.

"Don't want what to end," Monika asked.

"These moments…I've never had so many friends before," I admitted.

"Psh! This many? There's only seven of us here!" Natsuki said, eyes closed and grinning.

I chuckled softly before my serious demeanor returned. "I mean it. This is our last year…I don't want this to end at all." I grabbed my knees and pulled them close to my chest. "We're all gonna go to college probably, different ones obviously…" I inhaled sharply. "Heh, sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood-huh!?"

I was pulled to my feet by surprising force, but what surprised me even more was the unusual ferocious hug I received from Monika. She'd simply grabbed me and held me as tight as she could. "Stop thinking that," she said in a tone unusual for her, stern. "You think that our friendship's going to end just because school ends?"

I felt Yuri's hand on my back as she joined the hug. "Damian, we're all friends. That won't change regardless."

"You're a big dummy sometimes Damian," Natsuki said in her normal disgruntled sounding tone, but I felt her pat my back in what was probably an attempt to comfort me. "But a sentimental dummy."

"Besides, who says we won't all go to the same college?" Monika asked, sounding a bit more cheerful. "There's a college nearby remember? Should we all try and get in there and join whatever Literature Club they have there?"

I looked up at Monika who was beaming up at me. "Y-You mean that?" I asked.

"Of course! We can have more memorable years together!"

"I'd be down for that," Natsuki said. "I hear they have a great cooking program."

"A-and their Liberal Arts program is pretty good too," Yuri added.

"See?" Monika gave me a gentle loving smile. "So please don't be so sad."

I smiled a bit. "Alright."

"Even if it's just the four of us," Monika continued, "it'll be fun!"

I realized she was right. The fact that we'd all stuck together through everything was a testament to how strong a friendship we all shared. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry." I sat back down and Monika immediately sat back in front of me, almost in my lap. Yuri sat to my left, Natsuki to my right. It felt nice to be surrounded not only by very attractive girls, but by such close friends.

"What were you all talking about?" I heard Sayori ask as she, PLAYER and Akane walked over.

"The future of the club," Monika said.

"Someone looks comfortable," PLAYER said with a coy expression.

Natsuki immediately moved away and Yuri only blushed. Monika, on the other hand, simply leaned against my chest. "What, a girlfriend and boyfriend can't cuddle?"

"L-Lewd!" Akane said in a teasing tone.

"As much as I want to cuddle with you," I whispered, "let's do that more when we get through this week."

She looked a bit disappointed but nodded. "Agreed." She stood. "Okay, everyone! It's poem sharing time!"

Whoever the player was behind Makoto, they were trying hard to play the Sayori route because every word in her poem seemed to relate to Sayori. When I read Sayori's poem, I could see the sadness within. She'd named it **A Hope's Hopelessness** and the main message was about how she wasn't sure what to do now that her "mission was complete." It wasn't a happy poem at all. She saw my face fall and looked down. "Damian, I won't be like that anymore. Monika talked to me a lot more after you left. She said she wouldn't let me fall into despair. I'll fight on."

"Thanks, Sayo," I said.

She blushed. "Only Makoto calls me that."

"I know, and it's a cute nickname. Just like you."

Sayori blushed a bit. "Don't call me cute…" she said, pressing her fingers together and pouting.

"Why not? Every woman in here is incredibly beautiful and cute. Don't deny it, little cinnamon bun."

She tilted her head. "Cinnamon bun?"

"Your hair reminds me of a cinnamon bun," I said with a chuckle.

"Now I want a cinnamon bun," she said, drooling a bit.

I laughed. "There's the Sayori I know and care about."

She nodded, the sadness creeping into her features again. "Meanie."

"We mean it, Sayo," I said. "Everyone here will care for you until the end of time."

I next talked to PLAYER. I complimented PLAYER's work, saying "You're taking the Sayori route, aren't you?"

"Heh, well I do like her after all," PLAYER said, blushing. "I want what you and Monika have. I see how the two of you steal glances at each other."

I chuckled. This version of the MC was definitely a lot nicer than the one I'd seen in the runthrough on the player's computer. "I can't help it," I said. "I love her so much. Just keep up the good work, dude and you and Sayori will be together in no time. But just fair warning." I leaned in and whispered, "Be there for her, alright? Don't hurt her."

"She's my closest and best friend," he said. "I will never leave her hanging."

I frowned at his horrible choice of words, but remembered that Sayori's death hadn't happened yet, and I wouldn't let it happen. "You'd better not," I said before going to talk to Yuri about her poem.

"Okay, everyone," Monika said after poem sharing was done, "I think we should discuss what we're going to be doing for the festival next week and who should be doing what."

"Here's the important stepping point," Akane whispered. "I sure hope Monika has a plan."

"She does, I'm sure," I replied.

"We need to make some banners, have some refreshments for anyone who visits, and make fliers," Monika was saying. "So we have three days to do this, but I think we can do it all in one day if we do everything together. Here's my idea. Why don't we all meet up at someone's house? Any volunteers."

"Mine," I immediately said.

PLAYER looked at me curiously. "But you're not a member of the literature club," he said.

"It's not only my duty as Student Council President but as a former literature club president to make my house available."

Monika smiled gratefully at me. "Does anyone have any objections?"

"I'm down," Natsuki said. "I'd love to see where you live now."

"M-Me too," Yuri said.

"Yay! Party at Can-kun's place!" Sayori giggled.

"Hey, only I can call him that," Monika said playfully. When do you want to do it? Tomorrow?"

"Well," Natsuki said, "if we're going to make refreshments, why don't we do it on Sunday? That way whatever we make will be as fresh as we can make it."

"I like that idea," I said. "Our kitchen's pretty big as is our living room. And Hana-chan would love to help."

"Doesn't she have her own festival to prepare for?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah that's true, but she really likes it when Monika and Akane come over," I said, "and I know she'd love to see everyone here."

"Great! So should we end the club early today?" Monika asked.

As everyone agreed, an idea occurred to me. Saturday was a day Mom had off, and according to the weather report it would be an unseasonably warm day. "Before you do, I have one more thing to say." I walked to the front of the classroom. The poems that both Natsuki and Yuri had written about beaches gave me an idea. "I know it's a bit sudden, but a couple of these poems gave me an idea. I think all of us should spend this Saturday at the beach!"

* * *

**Sorry for not updating for a few days. Spring term just started for me so I haven't had as much time to write. Enjoy this one though!**

**morbiusgreen**


	13. The Beach Chapter

In truth, Monika and Akane were probably the ones who needed the Saturday trip to the beach the most as the three of us had spent the entire day studying code in my room that Friday. We'd come a long way and had even come up with some shortcuts so we could summon objects without the need for manually inputting code, but we weren't too confident in our skills even then, or at least I wasn't despite Monika's assurances that I was the most skilled out of the three. The two had fallen asleep at my house that night.

Mom volunteered to drive us all. Fortunately, we had a car that could snugly fit everyone, although Natsuki was a bit miffed that she couldn't sit near a window. Mom promised she could do that on the way home. When we arrived, the girls all went to change while PLAYER and I carried the stuff from the car to the beach and began to set it up.

The beach was entirely empty. Seeing as most Japanese people didn't visit the beach unless it was summer, I wasn't too surprised, but I'd expected at least a couple more people on this unseasonably warm late autumn day. The late morning sun was beating down on me as I set up the beach blanket and umbrella with PLAYER's help. Mom and Hana had already come back from changing into their swimsuits and were just sitting under the shade. "You came up with a good idea," Mom said as she pulled out a book to read.

PLAYER nodded. "Sayori and the others really needed this."

"A day of rest will help you all work tomorrow," I said as I pushed the umbrella deeper into the soft sand. "There we go. All done."

"Hey, here come the girls!" Hana said, pointing.

Makoto and I looked. All the other girls were walking up talking and giggling. My jaw dropped. Every girl in the group was super attractive. Natsuki was wearing a pink one-piece which showed off her…developing figure. And she had definitely developed further. Yuri was wearing a very revealing black bikini which she seemed embarrassed to be wearing. Sayori was wearing a pretty blue one-piece that showed off her back, Akane wore the same skirt bikini as she had before but it was Monika who caught my eye. She was now wearing a summer yellow bikini and was swaying her hips as she walked. She and I locked eyes and I swore I saw her eyeing me too. "Why don't you get your jaw off the sand?" she asked teasingly as she sauntered up to me, hands behind her back.

"Ah, um…hehe, yeah I sh-should," I said, closing my mouth.

"It's cuuute how you stammer," Natsuki said, grinning wickedly at me. "And how about the rest of us?" She struck a pose, hands behind her head and winking.

"You all look super amazing!" I said. "Dare I say…sexy?" I returned her grin.

"I-I'm not se-! Wait, you didn't say cute, did you?" Natsuki said, face completely red.

"Ah-um-uh-se-sexy?" Yuri's face was an even deeper shade of red than Natsuki was. She played with her hair and looked away from us.

Sayori found herself blushing as well, looking at PLAYER. "W-what do you think, Ma-kun?"

He looked her up and down, eyes wide. "Y-You're super cute in that!" he said.

"Damn right we're all sexy!" Akane said, standing proudly with her hands on her hips. "Come on, we've already put sunscreen on. Let's go play!"

The girls all headed towards the beach, Makoto running close behind. Monika was the only one who remained behind. She stared at me expectantly. "And what about me? How do I look?" she asked, pressing her breasts together.

I took a deep breath. "Monika, you are, without a doubt, the sexiest woman in the entire group," I said confidently.

She moved ever closer, teasing me as she moved in…then pushed me down onto the sand. "Haha, you can't catch me!" she said, running off.

"You come here you!" I shouted, laughing as the two of us ran across the sandy beach together. She ran towards where the others were splashing each other playfully and joined in, but not before I tackled her, sending us both into the path of a smaller wave. Laughing we tumbled back to the beach. "Gotcha!"

She squirmed in my grasp. When we were kids and we would sometimes wrestle, she could easily break free of my grasps, but this time was different. I'd gotten stronger and more confident in myself. Either that or she was being easy on me. Either way it was cute seeing her helpless against me. She giggled and splashed me, which was enough for her to escape from me. She rushed back to the others. Laughing I joined them, splashing them for a good long while before I moved to the beach. Monika quickly joined me. "Okay, everyone!" she called out. "Who's up for a game of Tag?"

"T-Tag?" Yuri asked nervously. "M-Monika, I'm not good with physical activity."

"If you want to sit it out, you can," I assured her.

She looked a bit sad. "Um…can't we do something less vigorous?"

"I wanna build a sandcastle!" Sayori exclaimed

"I'm down for that," PLAYER said, smiling at Sayori.

"I bet Hana would enjoy that," I said. I looked over to see Hana building a smaller sandcastle by herself. "Damn, we've been neglecting her. Come on everyone!"

Hana was ecstatic when we joined her. We spent the better part of an hour building up a large palace from the small mounds she'd been making. We soon had a massive sand palace. Mom took a few pictures of us posing in front of the castle. "Thanks! Onii-chan!" Hana said, leaping into my arms and kissing my cheek. Monika quickly snapped a picture and everyone, even Natsuki, went "D'aww," although I'm sure she was just teasing me.

"Okay everyone," I said, "should we eat lunch?" The night before, Monika, Akane and I had used our abilities to pack a veritable feast and we ate and laughed heartily. Afterwards we went back into the water, Hana joining us this time. I played with her a lot, Monika keeping close to me as well. Near the end of the day, I noticed PLAYER and Sayori heading away towards the changing rooms. I left to discreetly follow them. I found the two standing in a secluded spot. PLAYER looked a bit nervous while Sayori looked a tad confused.

"Ma-kun, you're sweating," Sayori said, looking at him concerned. "Is everything alright?"

PLAYER rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, well, I wanted to tell you something, but…I'm nervous and scared that you'll find it creepy."

Sayori shook her head. "Ma-kun, I'd never think that about you," she said. "You're my best friend!"

PLAYER seemed to relax a bit. "Sayori…we've been friends for almost our whole lives. We've spent a lot of time together. You've put up with me on my dumber days." As I was listening I realized this speech sounded rehearsed and he must have agonized over this confession. "I've watched you grow from that cute little clumsy girl to a beautiful but still clumsy woman. I…I know I haven't exactly been the best of friends lately, and I know some of my comments have been insensitive towards you. But…I just want you to know that no matter how you react to what I want to tell you, you will always be my best friend, dearest to me."

Sayori looked dumbfounded and I could understand why. Makoto had never been this eloquent before. I guessed it had to do with PLAYER being in control now. "Ma-kun, are you alright?"

PLAYER looked down. "I…well I'm nervous as hell and scared." He took a big breath. "Mght as well come right out and say it. Sayori, I'm in love with you. I have been for a while."

Sayori's mouth dropped. I watched carefully. I saw tears forming in her eyes. "Ma-kun…"

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't keep it to myself anymore," PLAYER said. "You mean the world to me."

"How…how long?"

PLAYER thought about it. "I think…ever since we started high school together. I can't name a specific day, but I do remember that during our first year, I couldn't help but steal glances at you during lunch break and I looked forward to our walks home together. But…I drifted away. I was so afraid of losing what we had. I…also thought I was unworthy of you. You're so energetic and full of drive. Look at me. I'm just a loner with hardly any friends."

Sayori rushed over and hugged PLAYER. "Stop…don't say such sad things," she said. I saw her holding back tears. "Ma-kun, why me? You could be so much happier with the others. Yuri's beautiful and smart, Natsuki's so much cuter than I am, and Akane is so nice and talented. I'm just…boring."

"Sayori…" PLAYER hugged Sayori close. "You're not boring. I can't put into words what I feel for you, but I can try." He took a deep breath again. "You're like a ray of brilliant sunshine. You make me feel warm and fuzzy whenever we're together. My heart skips a beat whenever I see you coming towards me."

Sayori had tears flowing down her face now. "I…Ma-kun, I…" she struggled to get the words out.

"Take your time," PLAYER said patiently.

I'd never felt so tense in my life. It all could go downhill very fast, but I was proud of whoever was controlling Makoto. She was doing a very good job at confessing. Finally, Sayori said, "I l-love you t-too, Ma-kun, b-but, are you sure you want m-me?"

PLAYER's hug tightened. "Yes Sayori. I'm absolutely sure I want you. I will be there when you're happy and when you're sad."

Sayori broke and sobbed, clinging to PLAYER's arms tightly. PLAYER held her close, smiling sadly as he looked down at Sayori. "I'm just…go-gonna be a burden to you, you know," Sayori said.

"You could never be a burden to me, or anyone," PLAYER said.

I decided to step in. Moving out from behind the wall where I'd been hiding, I stepped forward. "Makoto's right," I said. "Sayori, you've really nothing to fear."

PLAYER and Sayori looked over at me a bit startled, but PLAYER simply smiled at me and nodded. "No one at the club thinks of you as a burden," PLAYER said.

"Sayori, we all care for you and we want you to be happy," I added, putting one hand on her shoulder and another on PLAYER's own. "I know caring for someone is hard and being cared for is tough fo you, but I promise we all do care. If you suddenly vanished from our lives…the world would be a grayer place."

She pulled us both into a hug now, sobbing hard. I saw some tears fall down PLAYER's face an a couple formed in my eyes, but PLAYER and I had smiles on them as well. Sayori sobbed heavily before eventually calming down. She wiped her eyes and looked up at PLAYER. "Is…this really okay?" she asked.

"Yes Sayori," he replied.

Sensing an exit, I broke out of the hug. "You two have a lot to discuss," I said. "I'll let the others know you'll be back soon." I headed back where the others were still finishing up their lunch.

"Everything alright?" Akane asked as I sat back down.

"Yeah," I said. "PLAYER is just in the middle of his confession."

Her eyes widened happily. "Yay!"

"Here they come now," I said, pointing to the approaching figures.

"Awww, look at that, they're holding hands," Akane said.

I smiled and looked around to see if the others had seen. Natsuki was just rolling her eyes, Yuri looked a bit bemused, Hana was beaming and Mom was smiling as well, but it was Monika's expression that startled me. She wasn't looking at the others, but at me. I saw a hint of jealousy in her bright green eyes. She locked eyes with me and looked away, looking guilty for a bit before that expression vanished and she smiled as well at the new couple. "Congratulations," she said sweetly as she stood to hug Sayori.

I walked over and patted PLAYER on the back. "You did well," I said with a small smile. "Now be there for her."

"Always," he replied.

We spent some more time in the water and we even played with a frisbee. After a while clouds began to role in and a small bit of rain began to fall. We packed up and headed back to my house. The girls asked if they could use our shower to wash up, and Mom let them. Monika even said that they could use her house's shower as well just to speed up the process. Hana and I waited to go last. After Hana was done I began to shower, letting the hot water fell down my body in little rivulets, almost caressing me with their warm gently touch. As I was rinsing off, I heard a voice call out "Onii-chan?"

I looked towards the door to see Hana's silhouette against the door "Hmm? What is it?" I asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Hana."

"Are you going to marry Monika-onee-chan?"

I stopped what I was doing, looking at the door in shock. "M-Marry? I…" I cleared my throat. "Hana, the two of us haven't even gone out on a date yet. A proper one."

"Yes or no, Onii-chan," she said, putting her hands on her hips. I could practically feel the glare through the obscured window.

I sighed. Knowing she wouldn't give up until I answered truthfully I said, "Honestly? I hope that, one day, Monika and I do marry."

"You mean it!?" she asked, eyes widening with excitement.

"Yes, Hana-chan. I love her a lot, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. That way she can be your real Onee-chan."

She squealed in delight. "I can't wait!"

"I'm sure," I replied with a smile. "What made you ask?"

"Because I want you to marry her!" she giggled as I put her down.

"Me too."

She jumped up and down and rushed off, presumably to tell Mom about what I'd just said. I knew it was way too early in our relationship to ever seriously consider marriage, but I did want to work towards that kind of future with Monika. I dried off, changed into some casual clothes and headed to my bedroom. I was planning to collapse and sleep when I saw Monika sitting on the edge of my bed, face red as a beet. "Whoa, you startled me," I said, smiling at her. She didn't look at me, only kept her eyes downcast. I sensed something was wrong so I sat down next to her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I saw her lip quivering as she spoke. "Can-kun? What did you say? Earlier to Hana-chan?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You were listening?"

She nodded. "H-Hana made me listen in. I…could you repeat it? I want to make sure I heard you right."

"Ah, um, you see…" I struggled with my words before taking a deep breath. "Hana was asking if I wanted to marry you, and I said that's one of my future dreams."

She backed away, tears forming in her eyes. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. "Damian…I…" Clearing her throat, she gave me a serious look, grabbed me and pushed me back onto the bed. I fell onto my back only to be greeted by Monika's piercing green eyed gaze.

"Monika?"

"Did you mean that?" she asked sternly. "Did you mean what you just said? About wanting to be with me?"

Something about the way Monika asked that made me realize she wanted a serious answer. I sat up and looked over at her with a smile. She retreated, a look of uncertainty on her face. Reaching out, I caressed her cheek. "Yes Monika. I hope to work towards a future where I can be with you." I used the song that the other version of Monika we'd seen to make my point. "I love you so much. I know it isn't going to be easy, though. We've only just confessed a few days ago, but I've felt that way for a long time. I want to, as you say, 'Write a poem for me and you,' but I will write a happy ending for those who are dearest to me, and you're first and foremost in my mind." She tightened her grip on my arms, looking down. "I know right now isn't the right time to focus on our relationship-"

"Shut up for a second," she said, voice trembling. She looked up at me. "I love you too, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life, but…are you sure you want to be with me? Someone as broken as me?"

"Monika, we've been over this, that wasn't you," I said, frowning.

"I…have a confession."

The way she said that made my blood run cold. "Monika? What do you mean?"

She looked away. "I'm more like that version of me than you think. Every day whenever you and Akane walk in together talking and laughing, I feel…so incredibly jealous. I know I have no right to feel like that, but it…" she grabbed one arm with her other hand. "I have these…incredible urges to…do what the other me…what she…" she turned away from me, facing the ground. "I don't know when I became so possessive…but I'm scared of what I can do and I-"

I immediately understood what the look at the beach was about. I had been talking to Akane and hadn't included her. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer. "Monika, you don't have to worry about me chasing other girls. Why would I? I'm holding the perfect girl in my arms as we speak. The most beautiful girl in all the world is in my arms and telling me she loves me. I'm so incredibly happy I'm not sure I or anyone could even perfectly describe it in a poem."

She didn't move. "Please…I have the capacity to become a monster…"

"We all do, sweetie, but I won't let that happen, to either of us," I said. "Monika, have you ever considered talking to someone professional about this? About those tendencies I mean?"

She stiffened. "I…no I haven't."

"Maybe that would be a good idea? Just a thought."

She reached up and grabbed my arms weakly. It hurt me to see Monika cracking like this, but I wouldn't give up on her. "O-Okay. I'll think about it."

"I promise, I will always be there for you. I love you so much." One of my hands ran through her still damp hair. "You don't always have to play the perfect club president. Loving you means accepting the entirety of you. Even the possessive parts. If they scare you, I'll be there to help you and reassure you that everything is going to be okay."

She buried her face in my chest, arms around me tightly. "Thank you Damian…" she said softly.

"Seems all we've been doing is comforting each other whenever we have a breakdown," I whispered as I held her closer. I pulled her on top of me and we lay there together.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Monika said, snuggling in closer.

"Not at all, that's what couples do."

She looked up at me, a small smile on her face. "I'm feeling better again. Sorry for dumping that on you so suddenly."

"Don't apologize," I said, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "It's my job to make my gorgeous girlfriend feel better. Although, we should probably head out to the living room. Someone might think we were making out," I joked.

"And why aren't we?" Monika asked, narrowing her eyes at me and grinning.

That startled me. "Well damn, Monika, I had no idea you were so forward."

"Didn't I tell you when we reunited that spring break that I wouldn't stand on the sidelines anymore? I will do whatever it takes to get what I want." She moved closer so our faces were only centimeters apart. "And I. Want. You." Her eyes were full of intense desire mixed with a deep and burning love. She closed her eyes and her lips impacted mine.

Surprised by her ferocity, I fell onto my back again. Monika didn't break the kiss even during that. She grinded on me almost desperately. I felt her nails digging into my back.

I finally returned the kiss. It became more passionate, and all that I heard was the intermingling of our heavy breathing and soft occasional moans from the two of us. Becoming bolder, I reached up and brushed my hands across her left breast.

Her breath caught and she broke the kiss suddenly, looking down at me with a sensuous grin. "You're quite the bold one too, you know," she said, panting a bit.

"Says the girl trying to make me swallow her tongue," I replied quickly. I grinned and pressed my hand against her breast harder, giving it a gentle squeeze. She gasped and moaned softly, arching her back. "Heh, oh Monika, your incredibly sexy," I said, moving my hand under her shirt.

"S-Stop, we're in your mother's house," she begged, giving me pleading eyes.

"Oh, is that the kind of thing you're into, Monika?" I asked, showing her my teeth as my grin widened.

"Hehe, I just wanted to try it on for size-Oh! Oh my…Damian…mmm…"

I had a handful of her left breast in my hand now, massaging it gently. I managed to catch a good glimpse of it. I had to admit, I did watch some porn during my first lifetime, but the woman before me put every single one of those performers to shame. I gently moved my index finger and thumb towards her nipple, slowly pinching it so as not to hurt her. Her moan was enough to get me even more aroused than before. "Oh Monika…"

She looked down at me with both tender and ferocious eyes. "Damian, I can't take it! I need you now!" Reaching back, she quickly removed her shirt and bra, letting both fall to the floor. She bit her lower lip. "Like what you see?" she asked.

"Oh yes. Now then, c'mere sexy." I pulled her in for another kiss…

* * *

**Welp, gonna have to change the rating from T to M now. I'd include an entire scene like that, but I feel like it would take away from the narrative. Plus, I'm not very good at writing mature themed scenes. But I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**morbiusgreen**


	14. Be Prepared

**Hey everyone! No, I'm not dead, I just have been caught up in school which started a few weeks ago so I may not post as often, but I'll try to keep up. I'm glad that you're all enjoying my story so much. Someone recently commented that I hadn't even described Akane, and they're right. To be honest I hadn't even thought to describe her, so I'm gonna do that now.**

**Akane is about the same height as Sayori is, maybe an inch or two taller. She has short brown hair, fierce but at the same time caring brown eyes and has a very athletic figure. Her "posture" is a cup size bigger than Sayori's is. Her normal casual clothes are very tomboyish, I'll describe them later in this chapter. As for whether she had a crush on Damian, yes she did at one point, but now she just thinks of him as a close friend, although those feelings might return later, I don't know yet. Hope that answers your question! Now on with the story!**

* * *

I woke to the sound of birds chirping outside my window. The light from the morning sun didn't seem to blind me so much as caress me with it's warm and soft glow. I felt like I was lying on a bed of soft clouds. I was so content that I didn't want to move. I turned to look at my right. Monika lay next to me, arm resting over my chest. She looked so peaceful and happy, with a smile on her sleeping face. We were both still very much naked in each other's arms. I never wanted to leave, but I knew that the others would be arriving soon to prepare for the festival. I gently poked Monika's cheek. "Wake up, sweetie," I said softly. "We should be getting up now."

She snuggled closer, pulling me tightly towards her. "Mmm…no. I want to stay in bed with you."

Her soft skin against mine sent shivers through my body. "Come on, love. What if the others walked in on us like this?"

She groaned. "So? A girlfriend and boyfriend can't be naked with each other?"

I smiled. "You're right, but we have a lot to do today."

She opened one eye and looked up at me. Opening her other eye she got on top of me slowly. "Fine, but you owe me one…or three." She leaned down and kissed me before sitting up and stretching. "Thank you for last night," she said, face suddenly red. "You made me…made me feel so special."

I sat up and took her hand. "You deserve to feel that special. And you made me feel special too."

She lay her head on my shoulder, smiling widely. "I'm glad…"

We sat in silence for a little while before there was a knock at the door. "Damian? Breakfast is almost ready," Mom said.

"I'll be down in a minute, Mom!" I called out.

"Alright. Oh, and Damian?"

Something about her tone made me pause. "Yes?" I began getting nervous.

"Just be glad we sleep downstairs." She sounded amused. "You're just like your Dad."

My face got hot. "I did **_not_** need to know that Mom!" I shouted as Mom giggled and walked away.

Monika giggled. "Maybe next time it should be in my house," she said teasingly. "My parents travel more than your Dad."

I gulped but grinned. "Heh, yeah."

When Monika and I walked down the stairs, Mom was just setting up the table. She looked at us and winked. Suddenly shy, Monika hid behind me, blushing hard. Mom laughed. "Hey, no need to be so shy, Monika. It makes me happy to hear you making my son feel appreciated and loved. And Damian, I'm proud of you for treating Monika so well."

"C-Can we talk about something else?" I asked, already embarrassed enough.

Mom smiled. "Sure. What time are the others coming over today?"

I looked at the clock. It said 8:32 AM. "I asked them to be here by around ten," I said, "but they might be here earlier. I should shower before then." That last sentence I murmured softly to myself.

Monika leaned in and whispered, "Should I join you?" She looked up at me with seductive green eyes.

I felt my face flush again. "A-Another time," I replied.

"I'll hold you to that," she replied as she returned to her breakfast.

Through the morning, Mom, Monika, Hana and I prepared the living room and kitchen for the inevitable activities. To my surprise, Natsuki was the first to show up at around 9:12. She looked exhausted, but happy to be at my place. She was wearing a bright pink skirt and a white t-shirt with a pink kitten on the left side. I saw black straps for what I assumed was her bra. I quickly grabbed all the bags she was carrying and rushed them to the kitchen. "Whoa, you have a full-sized oven?!" Natsuki exclaimed as she walked into our kitchen. "That's a far cry from that apartment you had back in the day," she continued, teasing me.

"A lot of the homes here have those," I replied. "Monika, doesn't your kitchen have a full-sized oven?"

Monika came out of the living room and smiled. "Oh yeah, although it's rarely used."

"Monika, when did you get here?" Natsuki asked.

"She stayed the night," Mom replied before either Monika or I could reply.

Natsuki looked at me, then Monika, then at me again. She crossed her arms. "If you both did something perverted, I'm gonna kill you."

I laughed. "Natsuki, what a loving couple does behind closed doors is their business," I said, walking over and hugging Monika from behind, lifting her up. She squealed in delight as I twirled her around.

"Gross," she said. "Well I'm gonna set things up for the cupcake baking."

"Need any help?" I asked.

"I got this," she said.

Yuri arrived next about fifteen minutes later. She was wearing a gray turtleneck and black pants. She was carrying a few items which I took into the living room. "You look a bit tired," I said, "I hope the walk wasn't too much for you."

"N-No, it wasn't," she said, smiling reassuringly at me.

"I hope not. Make yourself at home. Are you going to need any help?"

"A-Akane said she'd help me when she got here," she replied.

"That's good," I said. "Make yourself at home. Akane should be here shortly."

About ten minutes later Akane strode in, whistling a merry tune. She was wearing her normal casual clothes, jeans and an unzipped hoodie with a dark brown t-shirt underneath. "Morning, everyone!" she said with a grin. "How's everyone doing today? Not too tired, I hope?"

Everyone immediately perked up and replied in the positive. "You're in a very good mood today," Monika said. "Anything special happen?"

"No, I just enjoyed yesterday so much and can't wait to do it again with you guys."

"That was fun," I said. "Maybe next time, we should head to the mountains to ski or play in the snow."

Natsuki looked up, seeming a bit excited, Yuri didn't seem all that into the idea, Akane and Monika looked very excited and Hana was beaming. "That's our student council president for you!" Akane said, "Always coming up with new and great ideas!"

"What idea did he come up with now?" a new voice asked. Turning I saw PLAYER and Sayori standing at the door, hand in hand.

I decided to be cheeky. "Oh I was planning a double date for the four of us," I said, indicating PLAYER, Sayori and Monika.

Sayori hid her face, blushing hard. "D-Double d-date?"

"Already holding hands? Lewd," Natsuki said, but her smile indicated she was only teasing.

The new couple let go, both looking extremely embarrassed but also smiling. I decided to step in but Monika must have read my mind because she beat me to it. "Awww leave the two alone. I think you guys look very good together."

"Aah um, thanks Monika," PLAYER said.

"Okay everyone," Monika said. "Now that we're all here, should we get started? Sayori and I are making the pamphlets and fliers, Yuri, I guess you and Akane are working on mood setting, Natsuki's going to be making the cupcakes, and as for Damian and Makoto, well you can be backup in case any of us need help."

"I can help Natsuki," I said. I wanted to get her alone so I could gently let her open up to me about anything that might be troubling her.

"Better get ready to get your hands dirty," Natsuki grinned. "Just because you're the president don't think I won't hold back on using you as my servant for the day."

I bowed. "Your wish is my command," I said in English.

"Damn right it is!" she replied. I'd said that phrase enough that she knew what it meant.

I closed my eyes and looked at the world through the gaming system. I saw PLAYER's screen with three choices. On the pink textbox I saw the question _Who should I help?_ The three options were **Sayori**, **Natsuki** and **Yuri**. I sighed and opened the game files. Finding the piece of code I was looking for, I added in a new option, which was **All of them!** The game screen glitched and the fourth option appeared. "Makoto?" I asked, opening my eyes. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I was just trying to think of who I should help," he replied.

"You could be a jumper," I said. "Just checking on all of us during the day."

"Huh, yeah that's not a bad idea," he said. "I'll do that."

"If you find yourself with nothing to do, could you play with Hana-chan?" I asked.

"I wanna help make cupcakes!" Hana said with a wide smile.

"That okay with you, Natsuki?" I asked.

Natsuki looked at Hana and smiled. Kneeling, she said, "Why don't you help someone else for now? You can help frost them with me later, I promise."

I raised an eyebrow but at the same time was relieved. I didn't want to talk with Natsuki while my little sister was there, but I was also confused as to why Natsuki had said that. Hana looked a bit disappointed, so I added, "Tell you what, I'll save you some batter to lick when we're done, sound good?"

She giggled and nodded before running off. "Well, what are you waiting for, Prez? Wash those hands before we start!" Natsuki ordered me.

"You bet," I said, washing my hands and arms thoroughly in the kitchen sink.

"We're going to make two batches at a time," Natsuki explained as she brought out the ingredients from her bag. "You're going to watch and copy me exactly, got it?"

"Of course," I replied, helping put the ingredient on the table.

As the two of us began to put ingredients into two bowls, Natsuki's normal bossy attitude seemed to fall away. She explained how much of each ingredient was needed and was patient with me despite me being a fairly decent cook myself. As we were mixing the ingredients, she moved closer and lowered her voice. "Hey, thank you for the other day at the arcade," she said.

"What for?" I asked.

The money," she said. "I wouldn't have had any dinner that night if you hadn't given me any."

The way she bluntly admitted that shocked me. She always seemed like the type who would keep her troubles to herself. "Natsuki…is everything alright?" I asked, treading lightly around the subject as best I could.

She paused, her mouth opening and closing for a bit. "That…um…" she lowered her head and went silent again.

"You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable sharing," I said. "Take your time. Just know that I'm here to listen to you. Everyone here is."

She sighed. "If…If I tell you something, will you absolutely promise to keep it a secret?"

"Of course," I replied.

She looked around, then lowered her voice. "My…my dad…he…" I saw he face fall as she struggled to keep her composure.

"Take your time," I said comfortingly.

She took a deep breath. "Dad…he does this to me." She pulled her shirt up to show me a large bruise on her stomach before quickly pushing it down.

An anger I hadn't felt since I appeared in that white void all those years ago seeped into me but I forced myself to keep calm. Nothing good would come of me scaring Natsuki even more. "For how long?" I asked evenly.

Natsuki turned away, trying to blink away tears. "E-Ever since…I started high school…he drinks a lot and…we hardly have enough money for food. I've lost more weight than I care to admit since I was a first year…"

"I see…" I couldn't think of anything to say.

"Please…don't tell anyone else about this," she begged.

"I won't, but may I make a suggestion?" I asked, immediately wanting to fix her situation. She didn't reply, just looked down as more tears streamed down her face. "You should leave your home and move in with someone else. You don't have to tell them why. One of the other girls would gladly take you in."

She shook her head. "Dad wouldn't allow it. He'd find the others…and hurt them worse. He is a police officer, after all. B-Besides, I still love him…even if he does those things, he's still my Dad. I don't want to see him hurting anymore."

"You're eighteen," I reminded her. "There's nothing illegal about you moving out."

Natsuki shook her head even harder. "I can't do that…not to my friends."

I sighed and put both my hands on her shoulders. Before she could react, I pulled her into a gentle hug. "Natsuki, you're one of the strongest women I've ever come across," I said softly. "It took a lot of guts for you to admit this to me. I'm proud to call you one of my friends."

She didn't move for a while as I just held her. Eventually, I heard her softly sobbing and she moved her arms to hug me back, albeit a bit weakly. "Th-Thank you…" was all she could say.

"May I make another suggestion?" I asked. I felt her nod. "I think it might be a good idea to tell someone else about this. I'm honored that you trust me enough, but the others would be glad to help support you. They're your friends too and I know they don't want to see you hurting."

She sniffled. "I-I'll think about it."

"For now, I'll keep silent about it, but I will speak up if something drastic happens."

Her grip on me tightened. "Thank you…" I held her for a little while before her soft sobbing dissipated. She released me and stood, hands on her hips. "Nothing like a good cry to purge the system," she said triumphantly. "Now come on, we have some cupcakes to bake!"

As the cupcakes were busy baking, I called Hana over and told her to help Natsuki with the frosting. "I'm just going to check on everyone else quickly," I said. "Hana, listen to Natsuki-onee-san, got it?"

"Haaaaiiii!" she said with a wide grin.

"Natsuki-onee-san?" Natsuki asked, clearly proud of the new nickname. "I like it!"

"Good." I washed my hands and headed into the dining room where Yuri was carefully painting the banner and discussing something. Akane had just walked out, talking to someone on her phone. "Hey there."

Yuri jumped at my sudden interruption. Her paintbrush flew out of her hand and the brush grazed her face, getting some paint on her left cheek. "Ah!"

"Damn! I didn't mean to startle you so much," I said. "Stay there, I'll be right back." Running quickly to the kitchen again I grabbed a small towel and got it wet with some warm water. After wringing it out, I rushed back and said, "Turn to me, Yuri. Let's get you cleaned up before t sticks." I began to clean her face when I looked at her and saw she was furiously blushing. Realizing what I was doing, I panicked and began to remove my hand. "Sorry, I shouldn't be doing this."

She quickly grabbed my arm and held my hand to her cheek. "I-It's okay," she said demurely. "This feels n-nice."

I gently removed the towel. "If you think that's good, try an onsen."

She blushed. "I-I don't know about that."

I chuckled. "They're separated by sex. There's nothing wrong with that, right?" I took the chance to look at the banner. "Wow, this is quite impressive," I said.

"Ah, um thank you," she said.

"Need any help?"

"N-no, but thanks for asking," Yuri replied.

Akane came back right then. "Another crisis averted," she said, sitting back down.

"Something at school?" I asked.

"No, family business," she replied.

"Ah. Well, I'll leave you to it." I stood. "Keep up the good work everyone."

When I went to check on the others, PLAYER was sitting next to Sayori and Monika was at the other end of the table creating the fliers and posters for the festival. Monika was drawing the designs out with pencil and Sayori was coloring them in carefully with PLAYER's help. I picked one up and smiled at the colorful and catchy drawings. "These look amazing," I said.

"Ehehe, thanks," Sayori said, pushing her fingers together and looking aside, embarrassed. Monika smiled up at me happily and gave me a thumbs up. Her index finger was slightly separated from the rest of her fingers, a subtle sign that Akane, Monika and I had come up with to indicate that all was well.

"Keep it up, and you'll be getting new members in no time," I said.

"I hope so," Monika said. I sat next to my girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She giggled cutely and leaned on my shoulder. "Nya," she said.

"Nya?" I laughed. "You just keep getting cuter and cuter," I said, moving to tickle her stomach. She laughed and squirmed.

"Um, shouldn't we be workiiiieeeheeheeheehee!" Sayori began before she was grabbed by PLAYER and tickled as well. "Ma-kun Ahaha! Stoooop!"

"Can-kun! You know I'm weak theeeeeere!" Monika exclaimed as I moved my hands up her stomach. "Aaahahaha!"

PLAYER and I chuckled as we continued to tickle our girlfriends before we all collapsed into two separate piles, Sayori in PLAYER's arms and Monika in mine. Sayori turned around and touched PLAYER's nose. "Boop."

Everyone laughed at Sayori's cute childish nature. Monika looked up at me with a wide smile. "Thank you, Damian. I needed that."

"I could tell," I whispered back, kissing her forehead. "Do you want to take a bit of a snack break?"

"Snaaacks!" Sayori said, drooling almost immediately.

"I'll take that as a yes," I said. I stood. "I'll go grab something." I went to the kitchen again where I saw Natsuki helping Hana mix the frosting. Natsuki looked natural while helping the younger girl, smiling and holding Hana's hand as the two mixed the frosting. I pulled out some celery from the fridge along with some peanut butter. "Does anyone have a peanut allergy?" When no one replied in the affirmative I began making celery with peanut butter for Monika and me before grabbing some cookies for the rest. I began to heat up some water for tea as well before setting up the table in the living room. Monika, PLAYER and Sayori had moved the pamphlets and fliers away. Yuri and Akane had joined the trio and behind me were Natsuki and Hana. After a little while I came out with freshly brewed tea. Sayori was already wolfing down the cookies while the rest were eating some as well. To my surprise, Yuri was holding one of the celery and peanut butter sticks. Monika looked right at me when I came in and scooted over so I could sit next to her. I placed the tea on the table. "How's everyone's projects coming along?" I asked.

"Great!" Natsuki said. "Cupcakes have about ten or so minutes before they need to come out and then I'm gonna have Hana help me frost them. She's really good."

Hana giggled as Natsuki ruffled her hair. "Thanks, onee-san!"

"I-I think I may need to finish the banner at school tomorrow," Yuri said. "The paint will take a while to dry."

"We'll be done with the banners soon," Monika said. "Sayori and Makoto are really helping this along."

"Good, glad to hear it," I said.

Ten minutes later I heard my kitchen alarm go off. Natsuki went to check on her cupcakes and a few minutes later came back, beaming. "They're all done. Now we just wait for them to cool."

I was about to congratulate her on a job well done when there was a banging on the front door. "Naaatttssuuukkkiii! Get your worthless ass out here now!" The voice was gruff and male.

Natsuki's smile vanished and she hid behind me. "H-How'd he find me?" she asked, whimpering.

I looked at Natsuki concerned. "Who? You know who that is?"

"D-Da…Dad…"

* * *

**An action scene is coming next. Get ready!**

**morbiusgreen**


	15. Exposure

The knocking persisted. "Natsuki! Get out here now! I know you're in there!"

I quickly stood. "Everyone get upstairs now," I whispered urgently.

"What about you?" Monika asked, looking at me worriedly.

"I'll think of something. I need you and Akane to look out for everyone, especially Hana."

Monika looked like she wanted to object, but one look at me and she deflated. "I know that look. Just…don't die here. The game might reset and I'll forget everything."

I hugged her quickly. Akane was already ushering everyone upstairs, including a very pale and terrified Natsuki and a confused Hana. PLAYER went last, looking protective of the girls. Sighing, I walked over to the door. "Cancian residence, may I ask who's calling?" I asked.

There was silence, then the man's tone completely changed to an official calm tone. "I'm Officer Nomura Hiro. My daughter Nomura Natsuki was seen entering your house earlier today, is that true?"

My mind was racing. I had the power to edit him so that he would be more docile, but I resisted the urge. I wanted to lie and said she wasn't here, but I didn't want to get into trouble now, just when things went wrong in the game. "She's here yes, helping with preparations for her club's presentation in our school festival," I said. I couldn't think of what to do. I didn't want to send Natsuki back to her father.

"Could you bring her downstairs for me? She needs to come home now."

"Any particular reason?" I asked.

"Family emergency," was all he said.

An idea struck me suddenly. I knew I couldn't fight him or risk getting in trouble with law enforcement but neither could I use my abilities on him. Not directly anyway. It was time to fuck with his mind. "She's using the toilet now. I'll let her know when she gets out."

I heard a sigh, then he said, "Sure, I'll wait."

I walked away and as I did so I opened my character file and began some very quick edits to my body. I felt my eyes burn a bit, my ears elongate and my teeth sharpen. I darkened the inside lights then placed a protective barrier around my head and torso I pointed to the door which unlocked on its own. I inhaled and exhaled, hearing my new wolflike growl.

I watched from the shadows as Hiro stepped inside. He was in his full uniform and the holster on his side was unbuttoned. "Hello?" he called out cautiously. I emitted a low growl which caused him to jump and draw his M360. "Do you have a dog, because if he attacks, I will shoot!"

I stood and walked out, letting my eyes burn a demonic red. Strolling over in a friendly manner I raised my hand. "Hey there! Sorry, Natsuki's taking a bit longer than I thought. Must have been the cake."

His face paled in horror as he stared at me. He raised his gun. "What…the hell are you!?"

I raised my hands quickly, letting fear wash over my face. It wasn't hard to fake. "Um…is something wrong?"

"Stand back!"

"Alright, alright, I don't want any trouble." I slowly backed away.

He reached for his radio. "H-Hello? Send backup to my location right away!"

"_Roger that, what's the emergency_?" the person on the other end, a young female, asked.

"I've got a monster in my sights! A real freaking monster! Fangs, fur, he's a damn werewolf!"

There was silence, then, "_Officer Nomura, are you serious? Sure it isn't a man in a costume_?"

"What are you talking about? Werewolf?" I asked, feigning confusion.

"Shut up, freak!" He aimed the gun at me again, hand trembling.

"_Nomura, are you sure you're alright_?" the dispatcher asked.

"Get someone here now!" He kept his weapon trained on me. I kept my hands up non-threateningly, but from my throat I began to release a low growling noise. His hands trembled. "S-Stay back!"

"I am," I said in a compliant voice. My heartrate was increasing though. I was playing a dangerous game and if he decided to shoot, I knew my arms and legs would be vulnerable, but that was what I was counting on. I didn't mind if he hit my arms or legs because I figured if he hit an unarmed teenager he'd be at the very least fired or something. I kept growling.

"Stop growling!"

"Growling? Sir, I'm not growling. If anything, you're the growling one." I looked steadily at him. "With how you treat your own daughter, that is."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I updated my face to become more demonic. "No need for being coy. You and I both know how you've beaten and abused your own daughter ever since your wife passed away." A shot rang out but it ricocheted off my shield. I made the environment around me distort and warp, but only for him. "You've been more of a demon than I am," I said, my voice now wicked and judgmental.

"STAR AWAAAAY!" He unloaded his clip at me, but thankfully for me he fired at my chest, meaning my shield protected me. He kept pulling the trigger even after he'd unloaded the clip.

I simply stood there, arms behind my back. "Dost though believe that thou deserve anything less than total damnation?" I switched to more formal Japanese.

"Stop! PLEASE!"

"DID YOU STOP WHEN YOU WERE BEATING NATSUKI?!" He dropped his gun, letting it clatter to the floor. He curled up into the fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably now. I decided that he wasn't any real danger, so I changed back to a normal human. Walking over, I knelt beside this now broken man. "Answer the question," I asked, but in a calmer tone.

He didn't answer. He couldn't now. Hiro had passed out. I dropped the disguise and moved him to the couch. As I looked at his sorrowful unconscious face, the anger I felt at him diminished a bit. I saw not just the abuser or monster, but a broken man, lost in the world and having thrown himself into his work to mask the pain of losing the woman he loves. I wasn't sure, but I guessed Natsuki reminded him too much of his lost wife. I felt a bit of sympathy for him. I sat across from him and waited for other policemen to arrive. Before anyone else arrived, I used my abilities to put the bullets back together and into Hiro's gun so it appeared as if the gun hadn't been fired.

Ten or so minutes later I heard the telltale sirens of a Japanese police car. Doors opened and shut and two officers, a man and woman, ran through the open door with weapons drawn. Their nametags read Tanaka and Kobayashi. The man, Tanaka, rushed to Hiro's side and the woman, Kobayashi, approached me. "Sir, is everything alright? What happened here?" she asked.

"The officer over on the couch came knocking, looking for his daughter. He said there was a family emergency. I let him in and the moment he saw me he freaked out and pulled his weapon on me. He grew more terrified and finally collapsed. I put him on the couch and waited for you guys."

"Is his daughter here?" she asked.

"Yes, she's upstairs. Should I go get her?"

"No need, I know Hiro's daughter well enough. Stay here."

I nodded. "I should tell you that there are others in the house as well. They're all upstairs."

The officer nodded and headed upstairs. Soon everyone else came walking down; Kobayashi was talking to Natsuki with a calming voice. Natsuki came and sat next to me and Monika took the other side. Makoto stood next to the couch with Sayori beside him. Yuri stood a bit off, looking nervous. Akane stood next to Yuri for support. "Okay, we need some answers," Kobayashi said. "We'll start with you, Natsuki. Is there anything wrong at home?"

Natsuki flinched a bit but I put a hand on her shoulder. She relaxed a bit and began telling the officer about what had been happening in her home for the past few years. She showed a couple bruises from where Hiro had hit her recently. The officers looked shocked. "I'm so sorry about all that's happened to you," Tanaka said. "Is there any place you can stay right now? We're going to look into this."

"She can stay with me," Monika said. "I live just next door."

Natsuki looked over at Monika with a grateful expression. "Thank you..."

"I'm the club president," she said. "It's my job to look after my club members." I looked at Monika and smiled at her. She smiled back.

Hiro began to stir. Tanaka had taken his weapon away and was staying close to him. When Hiro was fully conscious, he shot up and his hand went for his holster. "What happened?! Where's the monster!?"

"That's enough, Nomura," Tanaka said sternly. "Calm down."

Hiro looked around, his face and appearance looking disheveled. He looked at me and tilted his head. "Wait…do I know you?"

"You did just point a gun at me," I said.

Hiro's eyes widened. "You're the monster!" He lunged at me but was tackled by Tanaka. He struggled to get to me. "Natsuki! Stay away!"

Natsuki was looking down at her father with tears in her eyes. "You're the monster…" she then turned to me and buried her face in my shoulder, clinging to me. I put a comforting arm around her.

I could just see Hiro's heart break at the coldness of Natsuki's words. He stopped struggling and was led away by Tanaka. Kobayashi sighed. "I'm sorry to have to ask this of you all, but could I get a statement from each of you on what happened? I'll try and be as quick as I can."

"Sure, but can we do it here?" I asked. "I'm not sure a lot of us are feeling up to going to the police station right now. Especially poor Hana." My little sister was sitting in my lap looking quite confused.

Kobayashi nodded. "I understand. Is there a room where I can ask you guys some questions one on one?"

"Sure." I led her to Dad's study. "I'm guessing you don't want us talking about what happened to each other?"

"If you don't mind. It'll only taint the investigation."

I nodded. "Will do. Understand, everyone?" When I got nods of approval, I smiled. "Who do you want to start with?"

"You sir," the police officer said. "Right this way."

All in all, she was there for an hour asking questions of each of us in turn. The living room where the rest of us waited was incredibly tense and quiet. Yuri read most of the time, but the rest of us just looked around not saying a word. Kobayashi got our contact information just in case then left. When her car drove off, I let out a long laborious sigh. "Well, that wasn't exactly what I had planned when we came here," I said somberly. I knew now wasn't the best time to joke around. I turned to the group and was shocked to see everyone looking expectantly at me. I cleared my throat, trying to think about what we should do next. I looked at the clock and saw it was just past three. "Okay everyone," I continued, "I think it's time we sat down and had a serious talk. Hana? Could you go upstairs to play? I'll let you know when we're done."

"Um, okay Onii-chan," she said, heading up the stairs.

After she was gone, I walked over to the kitchen table, grabbed a chair, pulled it into the living room and sat down. "Today…was close," I said. I tried to keep my hands from trembling, but the genuine fear I felt during the showdown with Natsuki's dad was still fresh in my mind. "I don't mind telling everyone I was so fucking terrified. But…we managed to get through it." I looked around. "Listen up. I don't know exactly how to breach this subject with you all, so I'll just come out and say it. I know a lot of us are keeping secrets from each other. And I'm not just talking about your abuse Natsuki. I mean that a few of you are holding back." I pointed at Sayori. "I already know yours because you shared it with a few of us. But Yuri-"

"Please don't say it!" Yuri exclaimed, looking terrified.

"Yuri, he's not the only one who knows," Monika said, standing and walking over to the trembling bookworm. She wrapped Yuri into a warm and motherly hug. "You do know we're all friends here. We would never think any less of you for what problems you have."

Yuri looked away, her bottom lip trembling. "It's just…I don't…"

Akane walked over and placed a hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Don't feel guilty about it either," she said in a surprisingly tender voice. "We won't ever shame you. But please just trust us. We all want to help."

Sayori and PLAYER looked at the rest of us confused. "What's going on?" PLAYER asked. "What do you know that we don't?"

Monika gave Yuri and encouraging nod. Yuri looked down in embarrassment and began rolling up her sleeves. The moment the first cuts were revealed, Sayori and PLAYER gasped. I was even a bit shocked to see the extent of the cutting. She looked away, tears in her eyes. I walked over slowly and wrapped my arms around her. "Yuri, listen to me," I said as she gasped at my tender touch, "we're all here for you."

The floodgates broke and she wrapped her own arms around me. I heard her start to silently sob, but those silent sobs turned into wails of despair. She went limp and I knelt, leaning against the back of the couch as she sobbed in my arms. I rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry! I'm a sick pervert!" she shouted after a while, her voice trembling with regret and fear.

"Yuri…" Sayori knelt beside the two of us. She took Yuri's cheek in her hand and turned her head to face Sayori. "We'll do everything we can to help you. You're not a sick pervert. You need help…just like me."

Yuri looked at her confused. "Like…you? What do you mean?"

Sayori nodded. "I've…been struggling all my life with depression, and more recently…with suicidal thoughts." It was her turn to look despondent. "I've lived with it all my life. I…" she began to start crying a bit too. PLAYER rushed over and hugged his girlfriend.

I looked up at Monika and gave her a knowing look. She sighed but nodded. "I…have an issue as well." Everyone turned to her. She appeared suddenly self-conscious but pressed on. "I have a problem with being too possessive. Especially of Damian." She looked away. "Anytime anyone is close to him, I just have the urge to…hurt them." She looked at Yuri. "Even when I see another girl hug him…I just…" She quickly looked away again, and I heard her sniffling. "I hate myself every time I…every time I feel this way, but I don't…know how to change."

Yuri slowly untangled herself from me. We all stood in a circle, unsure of what to say next. I cleared my throat after a bit "I know…this is a lot to take in," I said, stepping into the center, "but I didn't want there to be secrets between anyone. We all have something we keep secret, but the secrets you all just shared needed to be brought out into the open before anything happened like we just saw happen here today." I inhaled deeply. "If you want, we can all sit down and talk about how to help one another."

Akane stepped forward. "It's not just our duty as members of the student council, but as friends. Seeing anyone hurt and struggling isn't something that any friend wants."

I smiled sadly. "We don't have to talk about anything serious now. Why don't we finish preparations for the festival? I'll order us some pizza for dinner and you all can stay here the night. Call me overprotective all you want, but I don't want to see anyone hurt tonight."

"Is there something _you're_ not telling us, kaichou?" PLAYER asked, sounding a bit suspicious.

I gave no reaction. "I'd be lying if I said no, but you all need to understand that I have an extremely good reason not to talk about it. However, I do promise this: I will tell you all very soon."

"How soon?" a very reserved and quiet Natsuki asked.

I inhaled slowly. "What about…after the festival week. We'll gather here again and I'll tell you my secret."

The girls looked at each other. Monika and Akane were the first to agree, Sayori next, then Yuri. PLAYER and Natsuki were the only ones who seemed skeptical. "I'm gonna hold you to that," Natsuki said, "because if you don't, I'll smack you into the week after next until you tell."

The tension broke and the living room exploded into laughter. Even Yuri giggled cutely. "Okay, everyone," Monika said, "let's finish up what we started."

I went and got Hana and she joined us again. Soon she was bouncing from proect to project her childlike innocence kept intact and lightening the mood. For the next couple of hours the girls and PLAYER continued with their tasks. The jovial mood didn't quite return, but the tension that was there during the talk had dissipated a bit. At one point Akane pulled me aside and asked, "What secret were you going to tell them?"

"The reincarnation one," I admitted. "I don't think the girls are ready to know the other truth yet."

"You'd still be lying by omission," Akane replied. "If you don't at least hint at there being a bigger secret, they will lose trust in you."

"I wasn't going to tell, but I won't deny that I'm hiding something."

When the pizza arrived, Sayori was the first to rush to the kitchen table, mouth watering. PLAYER chuckled as he watched his girlfriend wait for the food like an eager puppy. I carried the stack of three pizzas to the table. "What flavors did you get!?" Sayori asked eagerly.

"Pizza doesn't have flavors, Sayo," PLAYER chuckled.

Sayori puffed out her cheeks. "Meanie."

That got a laugh from everyone. I put the pizza's down. "I got Meat lovers and pepperoni for everyone, and cheese for Monika and myself," I said.

Monika, who was setting up the plates, looked up at me and blushed. "You didn't have to get it for yourself too. I know you like meat."

"I'm not letting the love of my life eat alone." I took the seat next to her. "Sit down everyone."

The dinner that evening helped to dissolve the tension even more. Soon we were talking and laughing and teasing each other. It felt as if the events of the afternoon were nothing more than a distant memory. When Mom came home that night, I pulled her aside and explained everything that happened. "Of course they can all spend the night," Mom said, looking sadly at Natsuki. "I knew Hiro didn't take his wife's death well, but…"

"We're taking care of it, Mom," I said.

After dinner was over, Mom provided the girls with some sleepwear that she had stored away from when she was younger. They all took turns in our two baths. I went last along with PLAYER. Before that, however, Mom and I set up futons in the living room for whoever wanted them. Yuri, Natsuki, Sayori, Akane and PLAYER slept in the living room. PLAYER would have slept in my room but Monika had begged that we share my room. Mom allowed it. She also allowed Hana to stay up later and play with us. When it was ten o'clock, we decided to call it a night.

"Damian?" Monika asked as we lay in my bed together a few minutes after the lights went out. "Can…we talk?"

I was still too wired up from the events of the day so I opened my eyes and looked at her. It was dark, but I could still see her face outlined by some of the electronics in my room. "Sure Monika. What's on your mind?"

She looked down and scooted closer, burying her face into my chest. "Earlier…I…felt so incredibly jealous when you hugged Yuri…" She clutched my shirt. "A part of me knows what you did wasn't a romantic gesture, but…another part of me just wanted to tear the two of you away from each other and delete the world just to be with you." I felt her trembling as she sniffled, holding back tears. "I was so close…why am I so broken?"

Immediately I wrapped my arms around her. "Keep holding on. Monika, I love you so very much. I don't see Yuri in that way. She's a good friend, but you're my best friend. I'm so happy that you and I are together that whenever I think about us, my heart threatens to leap out of my chest and write a thousand page epic about you."

Despite her tears, I heard her chuckle. "You really were a literature club president. So eloquent. But seriously…I'm scared. Of myself. I'm a monstMMMPH!"

I cut off her self-pity with a fierce and passionate kiss. She froze, but eventually reciprocated just as passionately as I was, even more so. She got on top of me and looked down at me with a wild look in her eyes. I looked up at her with a grin. "Monika, how many times do you want me to prove my love and devotion to you?"

"Hmm…as many times as I imagine you want to have me do it?" she giggled.

"You sneaky girl," I said, reaching to grab her behind, a sudden desire and lust overcoming me. Even in her green pajamas, Monika looked too alluring. I bit my lip. "Well, shall we prove it to each other again?"

"And again and again," she growled as she reached for the buttons on her pajama shirt…

* * *

**I know it's been a while, but school has been busy lately. I caught a bit of a break recently so I managed to write this chapter. I hope the quality didn't degrade.**

**morbiusgreen**


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